Beachside Home Insurance

[sware2cod]

Originally Posted by Raddler

Also, does anyone know how accurate the national flood insurance site is? For example sometimes it will give an actual estimate, sometimes it doesn't...not sure why. I picked a random house that was for sale on Zillow in Indiatlantic and put in the address. It was a moderate to low risk and the estimated premium was only $129-$460. See link below. I thought that seemed low. However, this is just flood correct? And my regular home insurance won't cover flood correct? Is hurricane insurance included with my regular home insurance?

This is what always happens as soon as I start researching it gets complicated. It shouldn't be so difficult to figure this out.

Error

I found it to be inaccurate. I plugged info for my home and was told the flood insurance would be between $1k and $2k. Actual flood insurance is under $300.

All insurance carriers provide the same flood insurance to you. It's through FEMA but the place you pay is the third party. I am pretty sure no matter who you go to for insurance, the flood ins quote should be the same for a given address.

Correct, flood insurance is a separate policy.

FYI when getting waterfront property lots of times you get a separate policy for "wind only", and then a 3rd policy for fire/theft/normal. The wind only is because you are within 1500 of water and many carriers won't cover you for wind because of this. I think the term is X-Wind when you get normal insurance from other carriers but they exclude wind. Citizens provides the wind policy in most cases. wind policy can be sky high or very low (just like flood). Wind depends on age of home. Those built after 2002/3 generally have lower wind insurance. Also wind depends on type of construction, roof materials, roof tie downs, shape of roof (hip is cheapest), roof material, type of garage door (hurricane or not), type of windows and whether approved shutters/approved plywood or if hurricane windows.

[sware2cod]

The county building department might have, on file, the actual BFE for the home. I am not sure. I know when a new home is built that the county get the actual BFE for first floor of living. Not sure if counties have this available on their web sites or not. You can call and ask them.

Otherwise you would need to get from the seller...a copy of their elevation certificate. It's (elevation certificate) is done by a surveyor. I think it's a 2 pg document.

Beware that the current FEMA flood maps might change. Some areas are proposed to change next year and others the following year. So a propery might have actual elevation above FEMA's required BFE today. But if FEMA changes their map from required BFE of 10 to 12, then that home is suddenly under BFE the day the new map goes into effect. It's a real issue. It could quadruple flood insurance if the home suddenly goes under BFE. So you want to get something that is several feet or more higher than required today. So if the BFE is increased, you have a cushion. It's so tough right now with many FEMA maps changing and it's expected that the FEMA required BFEs will increase in some areas. If you can see a proposed FEMA map before it goes into affect, this will help you greatly. counties have reps that know the FEMA rules and they might help you about when the FEMA map is expected to change.

[Raddler]

Thank you!!...extremely helpful. Is the wind insurance required for a mortgage if you are within 1500 feet of water? That is good to know.

The changing FEMA maps sounds like a frustrating issue. Are there houses in this area that are above 10 feet in elevation?? It all seemed very flat on my last visit.

[sware2cod]

Originally Posted by Raddler

Thank you!!...extremely helpful. Is the wind insurance required for a mortgage if you are within 1500 feet of water? That is good to know.

The changing FEMA maps sounds like a frustrating issue. Are there houses in this area that are above 10 feet in elevation?? It all seemed very flat on my last visit.

Keep in mind if you are asking for 10 ft elevation, it means 10' above sea level. Sea level itself is confusing because the tides rise/fall daily and the measured level at various times during the day can differ by 2-3 feet between now tide and high tide. But sea level for measurement purposes such as elevations...I think there is a standard that is the mean between low and high tide.

So it's tough to eyeball a property and know what the elevation is. Also realize some homes sit on stemwalls and you cannot always tell from street view of the home is on a 2' stemwall or not. Generally older homes are less likely to be on stemwalls. Stemwall(one type) is where there is fill dirt between the lower portion of the concrete exterior walls of the home. So it looks like the regular painted walls of the home from outside, because you cannot tell from outside where the fill dirt ended and the interior floor slab started. There are also stemwalls where the lanai, front porch area, etc is included in the part that is filled. In these causes you would see a raised patio with block wall that meets the ground.

[1insider]

Here's the new flood map from June 2013 for Brevard County.
Brevard County Public Works Flood Zone Map

My neighbor's oceanfront house is half flood zone X and half flood zone AE. There are plenty of waterfront houses in Cocoa Beach that are still zone X. Many homeowners of waterfront single family homes still pay less than $1000 per year for flood. Our elevations beachside are deceiving. You can be close to the river and ocean but easily more than 10' above mean high water. Because of the recent changes, don't rely on the current homeowner's premium amount. Yours will probably be higher but probably not as high as some of the stories you've heard.

Get a firm quote once you've selected a house and make your offer contingent upon you being able to get insurance at or below a specified number. Be reasonable with that number.

[scottschuetz]

I own several properties beachside. What is the size and price range of the homes you're looking at?

[Raddler]

Originally Posted by scottschuetz

I own several properties beachside. What is the size and price range of the homes you're looking at?

Size is approximately 2000-2500 sq ft. with a price range of 275k-350k. Any help you can offer would be appreciated. We just started working with an agent and she told us expect to pay 2000-5000 per year. But like I said in a previous post, everyone seems to have a different opinion on what I can expect to pay.

[scottschuetz]

There are so many variables to determine a price for insurance.the biggest ones generally are the location, age and wind mitigation report. The wind mitigation credits can be substantial. The reports are normally about $100 or are included in the price of your home inspection. In that price range if you found a house with new windows and a newer roof, I would expect you to pay on the low end of the estimate from your agent.

For me, insurance cost is just another factor in determining the right house. I can share my contacts for insurance and inspections if you like. Feel free to send me a private message

[sahara12]

Keep in mind there is a lot of beach erosion in Brevard county that is replace depending on how much was lost during a big storm or hurricane.

There is talk now about those living on the beach should start paying for this project by the U.S.Army Corp of Engineers.