Flood zones (insurance, mortgages, appliances)

[snuffybear]

Does anyone know if Zone AE requires Flood Insurance?

St. Johns County Flood Zone Map:

http://www.co.st-johns.fl.us/FloodFa..._Zones_web.pdf

[rwbil]

Originally Posted by snuffybear

Does anyone know if Zone AE requires Flood Insurance?

St. Johns County Flood Zone Map:

http://www.co.st-johns.fl.us/FloodFa..._Zones_web.pdf

I think most mortgages will require flood insurance in high flood area, just check with who ever will be writing your mortgage.

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by snuffybear

Does anyone know if Zone AE requires Flood Insurance?

St. Johns County Flood Zone Map:

http://www.co.st-johns.fl.us/FloodFa..._Zones_web.pdf

check with the county office they should know. I am not in a flood zone but have it anyway for the heavy rains we get.

[sware2cod]

Originally Posted by snuffybear

Does anyone know if Zone AE requires Flood Insurance?

St. Johns County Flood Zone Map:

http://www.co.st-johns.fl.us/FloodFa..._Zones_web.pdf

Yes, unless there is something specific to the property that got it exempted such as Letter of Map Amendment or similar.

Even if flood insurance is required it might be a few hundred dollars a year. It's pretty common in much of FL and not necessaril something to run away from.

[Ivan Putski]

We're in AE and had to get FEMA flood ($513/yr).

[snuffybear]

Thanks for quick responses!


And the flood maps seem updated from when I looked a couple years ago.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Ivan Putski

We're in AE and had to get FEMA flood ($513/yr).

We're in a similar flood zone. And - even though we're not required to buy flood insurance (we don't have a mortgage) - we do. Cost us $587 for the max this year. $250k for the house and $100k for contents. We self-insure for the rest (it would cost us more than $250k to rebuild if we had bad flooding). I don't recommend buying anything less than max flood insurance because flood insurance works in very disadvantageous ways if you're "underinsured" (and there aren't many houses in PVB that would cost less than $250k to rebuild and have less than $100k in contents).

Note that the little I've seen in this area in the way of bad flooding hasn't really come from "floods" per se. It's been caused by backups of water through inferior drainage systems (or the lack of any drainage systems at all) - after heavy rains. I can't recall exactly off the top of my head - but I seem to recall that some things like damage caused by sewer system back-ups are covered by your homeowners' policy - not your federal flood policy. And that it's an optional coverage. Best to go through your homeowners' policy with your insurance agent - find out what all the optional coverages are - and to buy those that are appropriate. Robyn

[rwbil]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

(and there aren't many houses in PVB that would cost less than $250k to rebuild and have less than $100k in contents).Robyn

Man, I must live a simple life. Even if you counted the kitchen cabinets, I can not imagine my personal property contents would be anywhere near the $100K mark. I feel I need to go out and buy more expensive belongings. And lets say you have expensive jewelry, I know regular insurance puts a cap on that. Does flood cover unlimited jewelry damage? I must be a pauper, I just can not even imagine my used furniture, TV, computers and etc. even being worth $25,000. Maybe if I get bored I should make a list of all my personal property and figure out a value, better to be done before you need the list for insurance purposes.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by rwbil

Man, I must live a simple life. Even if you counted the kitchen cabinets, I can not imagine my personal property contents would be anywhere near the $100K mark. I feel I need to go out and buy more expensive belongings. And lets say you have expensive jewelry, I know regular insurance puts a cap on that. Does flood cover unlimited jewelry damage? I must be a pauper, I just can not even imagine my used furniture, TV, computers and etc. even being worth $25,000. Maybe if I get bored I should make a list of all my personal property and figure out a value, better to be done before you need the list for insurance purposes.

When it comes to contents - we're talking about replacement value. And yes - you perhaps lead a simpler life than we do. My kitchen cabinets cost $30k 20 years ago - and I put in $25k worth of floor coverings a few years ago. I put in a new $2500 double oven a few years ago too (have other appliances as well). We probably have at least $20k worth of electronics in the house - if not more. I probably have several thousand dollars worth of shoes (not to mention other clothing and things like handbags) - and perhaps $10k+ in china/flatware/pots/pans/small home appliances. And that's not taking furniture into account (it is easily over $100k in furniture). Then there's golf equipment - and all manner of other stuff (everything from lawn equipment/gardening tools to who knows what). It kind of adds up - even at the very basic levels. Even if you live modestly - you might be surprised if you go around - and look and see what you have - how much it might cost you to replace everything today. $100k doesn't go very far at all.

FWIW - although it does make sense to make a list - I also suggest taking pictures. Like they say - a picture is worth 1000 words . Robyn