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Flood
Zones- Where am I?
People
often say "I'm not in a flood zone because I'm not
near water". However, every building is in a flood zone.
Only certain buildings are located in an SFHA or
a Special Flood Hazard Area (High Hazard Areas
which FEMA commonly refers to as 100 year flood).
Your mortgagee will require flood insurance if you
are in a Special Flood Hazard Area. Check out the Flood zones definitions and
remember, all buildings can have flood claims even if
you are outside the High Hazard Flood Area.
It's
not easy determining where your building is
located on a flood map but
FEMA has a Map Service Center that anyone can
access to order flood maps. Instructions for
using their
website will help you create and save map
information for later use. The maps have very few street
addresses and locating your building may be difficult
as shown in this sample.
Therefore,
if you are having difficulty determining your location
on a flood map you should consider asking
a FEMA map specialist for assistance by
completing an "Out As Shown" LOMA or Letter of
Map Amendment. You'll need to complete a LOMA request and include a
tax map and your Deed. FEMA will then return your
LOMA request with the correct flood zone. This
determination will be valuable for future
reference when the flood zone is in
dispute.
The most
accurate method for determining a flood zone
is to hire a Survey Engineer to complete an Elevation Certificate.
Enginieers use precise measuring tools and maps
that are not readily available to the general public. If
you are in a 100 year SFHA you will need the
information that the engineer develops in order to
rate your flood insurance.
Flood
zones are subject to change as FEMA revises existing
flood maps so check for map changes on the Flood Smart
web-site to see if your community has made any
recent revisions.
Correctly
determining your flood zone is critical because most
flood policies not insured with NFIP, have specific zone
restrictions. If your property is determined to be
in a 100 year SFHA at the time of loss, you
will not have coverage. If you have a
flood policy with the NFIP that was incorrectly
rated, you will have coinsurance penalties
applied at the time of loss.
Our
experience with flood insurance is extensive. let us
help you through the process.
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