New Flood Maps May Affect Flood Insurance

Flood insurance may not come across many of our minds but for some, it is very important. It is actually required for homeowners who have a federally backed mortgage and are in a 100-year-flood plain zone to have flood insurance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has spent over a decade redrawing flood-plain maps and they are expected to finalize the maps this year. These new maps will place many homes in a higher risk zone (the 100-year-flood plain). Also, those who already have flood insurance and are leaning towards not renewing their policy may regret this decision later on. This decision can have costly implications even before the new flood-plain maps come out. On the contrary, if homeowners have their flood insurance in place when the maps come out and their home is found to be in a higher risk zone than before, than they can receive a less costly policy.