On March 27, 2024, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued new flood maps, affecting Sarasota County property owners. Flood insurance rate maps, or FIRMs, could impact your insurance requirements and premiums. Flood risk changes over time due to construction, growth, environmental impacts, floodplains widening or shifting and changes to local watersheds.
Flood insurance is for rising waters, not water coming into your house from a roof leak, broken window, etc. That water intrusion is covered under your home owner’s insurance.
Here is what we do know:
* If you get a letter from your mortgage company about increased or new flood insurance, do not wait for the mortgage company to just add it to your mortgage. You could pay 2 to 3 times more than if you found insurance yourself.
*If you are currently in an X zone and have flood insurance, your insurance will still go up if all, or part of your home, is now in an A/AE zone. At one point, we were told that if you got flood insurance in an X zone then were changed to AE, you’d be grandfathered in at the X price and that is no longer the case.
* If you were in an X flood zone and find yourself in an A/AE, you may get a “newly mapped” discount. Be sure to ask your insurance agent about that.
*An elevation certificate may not help with rates any longer. The new FEMA floodmap changes rely heavily on distance to the water and not as heavily on elevation, as they once did. However, it doesn’t hurt to get one if you think you are elevated enough to garner a discount.
If you have no idea who to talk to or your insurance company doesn’t cover flood, feel free to reach out to my go-to insurance broker.
Austin Thinnes Account Executive
941.259.4969 | direct
800.474.1377 | Service
Schedule a Call Back
www.goosehead.com | [email protected]
If you aren’t sure if you are in a flood zone or not, call me!! I’d be happy to look it up and go over your options with you. I’ll be reaching out to my Sarasota clients this week to check in with this.
Helpful Links:
Srq Gov Site
Interactive Flood Zone Map