no hurricane and flood insurance ( may)

[Data]

After 20 years I'm playing with the thought of moving away from fort lauderdale.
I love florida and want to stay in this state.
my first criteria is the unbelievable high flood and hurricane insurances.
I once saw a map of florida, where it showed where hurricane and/or flood insurance was required, where it wasn't and where it was a very minimal amount.
can anyone tell me where I could find that information so I can stay away from those areas.

thanx
david

[lulu]

I'm not a pro, but I think if you carry a mortgage you have to carry Insurance for your home in Florida - one goes with the other. Flood insurance is not required if you are in a flood free zone. Both of them are optional if your home is paid off, like in my case which I'm gambling it.
A good way to see how much a particular ins. will cost in a specific area would be to talk to your insurance company and they might be able to advise you on the lower cost areas.

[pslOldTimer]

There is no map showing areas where hurricane insurance is not required. There are two reasons: (1) Hurricane insurance is not required by anyone except your mortgage holder, if you have one If you own free and clear, whether you have home insurance is your choice, anywhere in Florida, or in the nation, for that matter. (2) There is no area of Florida in which a hurricane is so unlikley that anyone would suggest you don't need insurance. Finally, hurricane insurance is almost always an integral part of a homeowner's policy; it's almost impossible to buy homeowner's insurance without wind damage coverage.

Flood insurance is a different case. There are maps which show flood zones. The maps are maintained by FEMA. You can go to this web site, put in your street address and zip code, and view a flood map for your specific neighborhood:

http://msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/store...0001&langId=-1

There is no way to post a clickable link on this forum, no matter how helpful it is, so you'll have to copy and paste the above link. Don't copy the "url" or "/url" in the square brackets.

Flood insurance is NOT part of your regular homeowner's policy; your insurance company does not offer flood insurance, Flood insurance is sold by the Federal Government. Your agent knows how to arrange for it. If you have a mortgage, your bank will usually require fllod insurance IF you are in a flood zone. You can buy it whether you're required or not; it's not a bad idea unless you're absolutely certain no water will ever get in to your house from the bottom up -- such as if you are in a stilt home.

There is a $250,000 limit to the coverage from flood insurance, regardless of the value of your house.

Some people are advocating that the Federal Government also take over hurricane insurance. I think it's a good idea. It would end fights over whether the water damage was a result of wind or flood. Also, as in Katrina, the government seems to be the last resort, anyway.

[Data]

thanx, that really helps.

[lulu]

Gosh PSold timer...you are great with words & explaining things.

You come across as a person full of wisdom...

[sami]

There are various sites for info: Fema and Florida sites. If you have a Pinellas County actual address you can call or go on the internet at Pinellas County FL and you will see the website for the county government--that gives the exact evac/flood zone classification for that specific address. Other counties may have the same thing and maybe the actual state government sites do too. Try the local city hall where you want to live and they should have maps. Try the local libraries.... Remember that there are often different classifications for different places in the same city or town and often two houses next door to each other can be different. With the exception of beach communities, most cities have some no flood zones, you just have to find them. (Also watch for sink hole areas.)..............If you have a mortgage you must have house insurance AND flood insurance if needed. You have NO choice. However, you can do without one or both if you own your house outright with no mortgage(s). But you take a big risk....... WE are all adults and each home owner must make the decision to get insurance or not.....if given a choice....... Hope I helped at least a little. I made sure I bought in a no-flood zone..... Happy hunting.

[FFZS]

FEMA has started a program called eLOMA (Google search eLOMA & FEMA) that will allow a license Surveyor or Engineer to to collect data for your residence to re-classify your home out of a flood zone. Six houses in my neighborhood have gone thru the process aready. And as a License surveyor, I was not aware of this program (or that it is possible).

So I had another surveyor complete the forms and submit them to FEMA. I have verified with the Mortagage Company (Insurance division) and the Insurance company (Wind, Homeowners and Flood--made sure one does not requires the other).

I reduced my coverage to 100,000 (and the structure being "exempt" from the flood hazard zone) --- the savings was about 75% (that is over the next 30 years). Currently I am helping several other neighbors, some houses pass and some did not (I'm talking inches above and below the flood elevation).

I have become registered with FEMA and have educated with Insurance regulations, mortagage contracts and FEMA process, so I can help out more of the neighborhood, and work on the LOMA full time.