JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Many homeowners in the Jacksonville area will be affected when the National Flood Insurance Program increases flood insurance rates Friday for all policyholders to offset debt from hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.
Flood insurance will only be federally required for those who live in a high-risk flood area like waterfront properties. Holly Mitchelson, a real estate agent and president of Florida First Insurance Group, in Arlington, told News4Jax it's better to be safe than sorry.
"It's not an April Fools' joke. Today, the rates are going up about 9 to 10 percent for a lot of property owners," Mitchelson said.
Some policies will spike even higher in addition to newly added surcharges and fees. It's all in an effort to help dig the National Flood Insurance Program out of a $24 billion debt incurred from claims made after hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.
"It is hurting a lot of people who may be living in the waterfront area. It is going to be a hefty increase for a lot of them," said Mitchelson.
She said the flood insurance rate increase will affect policyholders along the beaches and even some homes on the St. Johns River.
"Because there aren't that many private market options, unfortunately people have to go through the government and get that increase on their bill," said Mitchelson.
What many people don't know is that flood insurance isn't covered by normal home insurance plans and has to be added as a separate policy. Flood insurance rates are based on flood zone maps developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for each county. The maps estimate how high floodwaters will rise during certain storms. Right now, 5.1 million properties are covered by the National Flood Insurance, including 1.8 million policyholders in Florida.
Even with the rise in flood insurance costs, Mitchelson said it's important to protect your home, especially in Florida.
"That day might come when there's a storm and even some of our storms that don't turn into hurricanes. I've seen some pretty hefty claims, and luckily they didn't have to pay out of pocket. They just had to pay the deductible," she said. "It's just so hard to dry everything out. They try to get all the flooring and the baseboards dry, the drywall and even after that they're trying to prevent future damage like mold and things like that."
Mitchelson said there aren't many private market options, which forces some homeowners to go through NFIP for flood coverage. Slowly but surely, private insurers are entering the flood marketplace, and she said it's not a bad idea to do some research and check for other options.
For more information on flood insurance, visit the FEMA website. To find out if an address is in a flood zone, click here.