If you think the National Flood Insurance Program is all wet because you are in a high flood risk zone and are forced to buy flood insurance, you could be right.
Some homeowners in high risk zones already meet requirements that make them eligible for reduced premiums, perhaps a full waiver.
Homeowners and communities also can take steps to make more properties eligible, as well as safer from flood damage. The efforts can cost a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars on engineering efforts that could be cost-prohibitive to individual homeowners.
“The rules aren’t as rigid as people think. You can do things to reduce risk and reduce premiums. You just have to balance the advantages and disadvantages, the cost of this versus the cost of that,” said Mark Stevens, a spokesman for the National Flood Insurance Program.
Under the Flood Disaster Act of 1973, flood insurance coverage is mandatory if your home is in a federally designated high flood risk zone within a flood plain. The rule applies if you are using a federally insured mortgage or want to remain eligible for certain types of federal disaster assistance after a presidentially declared major disaster.
That’s where about 800 property owners in Palo Alto, Calif., recently found themselves after the Federal Emergency Management Agency designated two San Francisquito Creek communities high flood risk zones. An additional 200 homeowners with properties near Matadero Creek, also in Palo Alto, found themselves back on the high risk list after initial news that they’d be removed.
Flood insurance in the area costs about $500 to $600 a year, so it’s not surprising that some residents are steamed about the new expense.
“We are getting calls from angry citizens concerning the flood zone changes, and I suspect there is going to be a lot more anger vented,” said James Prendergast, an engineering geologist and president of JCP Geologists Inc. in nearby Cupertino.
San Francisquito is one of 19 creeks in the area that FEMA is restudying. Some 22,000 new parcels recently have been designated high flood risk zones in Santa Clara County, and maps for them should be completed soon.
National Flood Insurance Program officials say the new designations are not because of the potential flooding caused by El Nino weather patterns, but rather FEMA’s ongoing efforts to update maps. Because of El Nino’s perceived threat, however, 11 California communities (including San Francisco) previously not in the federally sanctioned flood abatement program have signed up for it.
Program participants use open space preservation techniques, drainage system improvements and newly built flood abatement structures. They also offer public education to reduce the effects of a flood. As a result, residents forced to buy insurance in these areas benefit from premiums discounted from 5 to 45 percent.
Participating communities that build dams, dikes, berms and other major flood abatement structures or go to the expense of re-examining elevations and flood maps sometimes can get a waiver from the required insurance.
“If it’s a dam that’s certified, inspected by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, that would qualify,” Stevens said.
Communities and individual structures within a high risk zone also can obtain reduced premiums or waivers depending on how much the construction is elevated above the high risk zone.
Individual property owners who think their property is topographically high enough and are willing to pay $500 or more for a land survey, subsequent flood elevation certificate and, if the lender doesn’t accept the certificate, a FEMA map revision, can seek an elevation waiver.
San Jose-based Marvin Kirkeby, a registered civil engineer who has surveyed property for 15 years, says prime candidates for waivers are properties that back up to creeks and those on the edge of high risk flood zones.
“Sixty to 80 percent of homes on the edge of flood zones” are prime candidates for waivers, he says.
Today developers, aware they are about to build in a high risk area, often construct their project at an elevation that will grant the development’s future homeowners a waiver.
Individual homeowners who deem the expense of tens of thousands of dollars economically justifiable also can “lift” their homes to an elevation high enough above the high flood risk zone to obtain a waiver.
Another costly procedure that can warrant reduced premiums or waivers is “flood proofing.”
Primarily used on commercial buildings to protect structures rather than to save on insurance costs, flood proofing involves moving electrical and other systems to a sufficient elevation in the structure, making it water-tight or constructing membrane systems that allow flood waters to pass through the structure without damage. The techniques can be used in residential structures, at a premium.
An estimated 10 million households nationwide are in a flood plain–though not necessarily a flood risk zone where insurance is mandatory–but only 30 percent of them are covered by insurance.
When you buy flood insurance, the basic policy covers your home’s foundation, flooring and walls. You must purchase separate coverage for the contents, if you want it. The structure and contents of garages, sheds and similar structures can be insured, but only up to 10 percent of the policy limit.
You can buy the insurance even if you aren’t in a high flood risk zone, provided your community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Losses not covered by insurance are tax-deductible, regardless of whether your community has been declared a federal disaster area.
For details on discounts, premium reductions and waivers, contact your local planning, engineering or public works department.
Information about the National Flood Insurance Program is available online at http://www.fema.gov/home/fema/nfip.htm.
