Flood insurance changes? (rental, houses, zoned)

[LocalHero]

Has anyone else experienced having your property change flood zones? I have a rental house on James Isl which was designated as B zone when I bought it in 1990. At some point years later (2008?) flood maps were re-drawn and it was put into an A zone. Now I'm told my annual flood ins is going from $355 to $1,549.

Any experience wrestling with FEMA on something like this?

Thanks,
John

[unbalancedwood]

Though a lot of research I've done on Flood Insurance they can do this at any time. You can petition the new maps; usually entails that you hire someone to survey your land & submit to FEMA.

[LocalHero]

Thanks. I may be going that route.

[xinerevelle]

I know that they've updated the maps in the past few years, so that's the reason for your change. Despite what some say, global warming has changed some of our weather patterns and we're seeing more flooding in areas that previously didn't flood.

[LocalHero]

I'm aware that they redid the maps and I don't dispute global warming but I can't say I've seen anything flooding around here that didn't flood before.

It seems a little out of line that I'd pay $1549 in flood ins while my neighbor, who's house I could hit with a marble thrown underhand, pays $355. I'm also told via my ins agent that if I wasn't grandfathered in, my rate would be $3500. I think that means that one day when I go to sell the house I'll have to reduce the price dramatically because the new owners will be paying $100 per mo just for flood ins. It's a screwy system.

[roxanneself]

If you fight this please let us know how it turns out. Right now I am at the other end, with my house requiring minimal flood coverage while three houses over that are paying substantial rates. I know at any point I could be in your exact circumstances, so I'd love to know how the process goes for you.

[southbel]

Originally Posted by xinerevelle

I know that they've updated the maps in the past few years, so that's the reason for your change. Despite what some say, global warming has changed some of our weather patterns and we're seeing more flooding in areas that previously didn't flood.

Actually, a lot of flood maps changed due to past events in other areas. After Katrina, for example, the flood maps for all coastal areas were reviewed because flooding did a ton of damage in areas of Mississippi that were not zoned for flooding. That's what actually drove these changes. So, even though you haven't seen flooding in your local area, the criteria to determine if something would or would not flood changed, thus creating new flood zones.