Florida insurance controversies

[beachmouse]

Walton County has surge maps online here:

http://www.co.walton.fl.us/default.asp?ID=102

It takes some playing around to figure out the Mapping Application but in theory, all the information is there.

 

[ecopal]

Question: What parts of 30-A are actually in a flood zone? Our house in Seacrest Beach is 30 feet high and certainly isn't. Our lot in Seagrove is just under 30 feet elevation and certainly isn't. I'm not sure that article is entirely relevant to the situation of most property owners in SoWal, because it seems like so few are required to carry flood insurance. Parts of Grayton? Gulf front owners?

We carry it on our house in Seacrest -- just in case -- and it is a paltry $317 a year. Our wind insurance is 10x that. I'm not sure you can argue that our flood insurance is artificially low because only a direct hit by a catastrophic storm is likely to flood our home. Of course we are 150 yards from the water. I imagine it is different for those on the dunes or one or two lots in.

I agree the need for flood insurance may not be relevant to many property owners on 30A because the 30A area offers one of the highest coastal elevation spots in Florida and the Gulf and Atlantic coast. We are so fortunate.

However, this article is relevant to all of us for a number of reasons:

1. This article applies to everyone who pays taxes because it is saying that taxpayers are subsidizing property owners who chose to live in high risk flood areas. According to this article even if you don?t buy flood insurance you are still subsidizing owners who live in flood prone areas.

2. Many areas in Dune Allen and some areas near the coastal lakes, and most Gulf front properties are at a high risk for flooding. Even some homes at 30 to 40 feet of elevation on the beach are obviously at risk as we saw from Dennis. Massive seawalls have been installed to save and protect dwellings in some high elevation locations such as Seagrove Beach, Seacrest, and Blue Mountain Beach.

3. For you and I this article could be very relevant because our Flood insurance maybe artificially high to help keep the insurance rates of properties in the high risk zones artificially low.

We were also not required to take out flood insurance but we did this year. I agree it isn?t cheap but it seems like a bargain relative to the expensive windstorm insurance.

We hope it was a waste of money ( $317) because if a storm surge hits us (30 feet up about a 1/4 mile back) there maybe little remaining in areas such as Dune Allen, and the vicinities of Eastern Lake and Western Lake and Grayton Beach not to mention Miramar beach to Destin and Panama City Beach.

It would be interesting to know what beach front owners pay for flood insurance especially in areas with the same elevation as ours. I will ask around.

To view flood zones go to this website. It is very interesting.

http://msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/stor...eView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

 

[TooFarTampa]

1. This article applies to everyone who pays taxes because it is saying that taxpayers are subsidizing property owners who chose to live in high risk flood areas. According to this article even if you don?t buy flood insurance you are still subsidizing owners who live in flood prone areas.

Gotcha. I also think you should be able to take out more than $250,000 worth of flood insurance (the federal limit). That may be counterintuitive to your argument, but at the same time if our home were to be knocked over by storm surge $250K would not cut it, and I'm not sure the wind insurance would pay us anything for what is essentially a huge flood. When they set the 250K limit it was a different time, and that amount should be adjusted upward, and while they are at it they should make the rates fair.

It would be interesting to know what beach front owners pay for flood insurance especially in areas with the same elevation as ours. I will ask around.

Maybe Donna will chime in and tell us what her flood coverage costs. I know she had a flood claim after Ivan. She does not have the same elevation but it would be interesting to know just the same.

 

[yippie]

I find it interesting that the Coastal Barrier Act of 1983 has not been mentioned on this thread.

http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/coasbar.html

Basically, this act prohibited people in the barrier zones, (which most of this area is included), ability to purchase flood insurance, of any kind. Even federal funded insurance. This was a ploy created in 1983 by the Federal government to try to harbor development on barrier islands and reduce the risk of exposure.

That was a HUGE deal when I bought my property. Insurance companies could NOT sell me floor insurance. Fortunately, at the time, my home was not located in a flood zone.

Several insurance companies sold flood insurance to people anyway, but it would have never paid any claim had one been filed.

One poster cited the Washington paper with suggestions on what would stop development or rather require developers and purchasers to be at a larger risk.

The Coastal Barrier Zone is now pretty much ignored by developers, however, I still cannot purchase flood insurance on my home.

Confusing? Yes.