Flood insurance maps could send premiums for some South Shore ...

New flood maps that went into effect Tuesday could double or quadruple mandatory flood insurance premiums for some South Shore homeowners whose properties were bumped into the high-risk category.

Flood maps created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are now searchable on an Internet database that allows users to enter a street address and view maps and risk ratings.

FIND THE MAP FOR YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

FEMA was unable to report how many additional properties in Norfolk and Plymouth counties were reclassified high risk.

But Edward Flavin, president of Flavin Insurance Agency of Quincy, predicted that Quincy will see many more properties elevated to that category. There are very few that have gone from high risk to low risk, but theres a lot going from low-risk to a high-risk rating, said Flavin. Homes along the bay where theres rising water and the storms are getting fiercer, those people were not in a flood hazard (under the previous FEMA maps). They were far enough away but theyre not far enough away now.

High-tech analysis by FEMA led to the changes in risk ratings, said David Mendelsohn, a natural hazard specialist at FEMAs regional office in Boston.

We have more precise topography of what the land elevations are than we did before, said Mendelsohn, explaining that FEMA used aircraft armed with laser beams to survey coastal areas and calibrate elevations.

FEMA also factored in new buildings and roads that alter storm drainage in areas, making some of them more prone to flooding. Mendelsohn also said that new federal maps are based on another decade or more of new weather and tide data.

The federal government requires homeowners in flood-prone areas to carry flood insurance if they hold mortgages from federally regulated lenders. FEMA designates high-risk areas as ones with at least a one-in-four chance of flooding during a 30-year storm.

High-risk flood insurance premiums run as high as $4,500 per year compared to $500 for lower-risk properties, said Flavin.

But Flavin explained that old flood insurance policies are grandfathered even if the risk rating ratchets up. For homeowners who have no policy and find their property at a higher risk, they are entitled to two years at a preferred rate about $750 a year.

The new flood maps from FEMA went into effect just two weeks after Congress approved a five-year extension to the National Flood Insurance Program, which covers 5.6 million people.

Source: http://www.dandiemer.com/flood-insurance-maps-could-send-premiums-for-some-south-shore-homeowner/

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