Flood insurance premiums go up

The good news is that residents who live on or near the water will continue to receive subsidized rates on their flood insurance policies, thanks to the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act. But the bad news is that those rates will see a gradual increase to full-risk rate, including a 15 percent hike in the policy premium that went into effect April 1 for residents who live in the flood zone.

Rosanne Disimone, of Seaford, has been paying for flood insurance for 30 years but has seen her premiums increase since Superstorm Sandy hit. “They went off the wall,” she said.

Meanwhile Debra Rapisardi, also of Seaford, said her rates stayed about the same, even though she was flooded during Sandy. “We’re at nine feet above sea level,” she said.

According to the new law, the average annual increase to premiums in the flood zone is capped at 15 percent a year but can be as low as 5 percent a year for those who live at a higher elevation like Rapisardi.

Either way, flood insurance will continue to cost more. There is a new $25 surcharge added to policies for a primary residence and if a resident has had a repeated loss, premiums could increase 25 percent a year until it reaches the full-risk premium rate.

The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act also allows a new purchaser of a property to assume the prior owner’s flood insurance policy and keep the same rates instead of immediately paying full-risk flood insurance premiums. Also, lapsed polices may be reinstated at subsidized rates that will gradually increase until the premiums are at full-risk cost.

Finally, the law requires FEMA to consider the effects of non-structural flood control features, such as dunes, and beach and wetland restoration when it maps the special flood hazard area, thereby effecting the final cost for flood insurance.