I was down in West Palm Beach today (02/05/2020) at the FEMA work shop to explain the new flood maps and I learned a few details.
Read this post I did to determine if you are in a newly mapped flood zone.
FEMA Flood Insurance and the Grandfathering Rule has some great information in it.
First, the majority of the aerial survey data (LIDAR) used is based upon a 2007 survey. This is why places like Frenchmans Harbor are so obviously wrong. It was built in 2013. It is worth scrutinizing the amp and the elevation of your home and the grade around it.
Second, private parties, a group of private parties (like an HOA), or a municipality CAN provide correct elevation data from a registered land surveyor to FEMA for incorporation into the FIRM’s OR a Letter of Map Revision (LoMR) if the map has been adopted before the data was formally accepted.
If you are located in a newly mapped flood zone AND YOU HAVE A FLOOD POLICY, then FEMA will send you a form Letter F. This is your official heads up but be aware that your insurer AND the company hired by your lender (a/k/a Core Logic) will NOT rely upon this determination letter.
They did not for me and thus I applied for and was granted a Letter of Map Amendment. Because of this my home was removed from the SFHA Zone AE and included in the adjacent Shaded Zone X so I got the preferred risk policy . This MAY be an option for you IF THE LOWEST ADJACENT GRADE (LAG) of the dirt around your house is higher than the new Base Flood Elevation for your zone.
If you haven’t got the proverbial leg to stand on then IF you have an existing Flood Policy then your rates will be ramped up to a higher level. Let’ look at mine as it’s pretty common. I was in a Shaded Zone X and with the new maps I will be in a Zone AE (SFHA). I had a preferred risk policy which is about $450/year for 250k of building coverage and 100k of contents coverage. This post goes through the math of how much my flood insurance policy cost is going up now that I’m an SFHA.
