Flood information

What is a flood?

Anywhere it rains, it can flood. A flood is a general and temporary condition where two or more acres of normally dry land or two or more properties are inundated by water or mud-flow Many conditions can result in a flood: hurricanes, over-topped levees, outdated or clogged drainage systems and rapid accumulation of rainfall.

Just because you haven't experienced a flood in the past, doesn't mean you won't in the future. Flood risk isn't just based on history, it's also based on a number of factors: rainfall, river-flow and tidal-surge data, topography, flood-control measures, and changes due to building and development.

Mortgage required flood insurance

Under federal law, the purchase of flood insurance is mandatory for all federal or federally related financial assistance for the acquisition and/or construction of buildings in high-risk flood areas (Special Flood Hazard Areas or SFHAs).

The amount of flood insurance coverage required by the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, as amended by the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994, is the lesser of the following:

The maximum amount of NFIP coverage available for the particular property type,
The outstanding principal balance of the loan, or
The insurable value of the structure.

If the property is not in a high-risk area, but instead in a moderate-to-low risk area, federal law does not require flood insurance; however, a lender can still require it. It is also recommended since historically one-in-five claims come from these moderate-to-low areas. Note that if during the life of the loan the maps are revised and the property is now in the high-risk area, your lender will notify you that you must purchase flood insurance.

How we save our customers money

We have specialized in flood insurance for many years and saved many clients money. You commonly hear that flood insurance is all the same price and that is true if all the rating factors are the same. However, often times people who don't understand all of the underwriting characteristics of a flood policy will overlook information that can save their client money. Underwriting all flood insurance policies is not straight forward and can be very time consuming. We often spend hours researching maps for one quote. However, we usually have a positive outcome! We would like to offer you our services and will save you money if we can. If not, at least you know you are getting a great rate.