Some Residents in Southern California Get Flood Insurance Mandate Lifted
Posted in Home Insurance
January 14th, 2010
Last week it was revealed that according to FEMA’s new flood map, a few thousand in Southern California would be required to acquire flood insurance; however, FEMA has now announcedthat some of those residents don’t live in risky areas after all. The news comes as a relief to many residents who would have been on the hook for an additional insurance policy effective immediately.
FEMA’s New Flood Map
According to the new flood map that FEMA drew up recently, thousands in the Southern California area would said to suddenly live in flood-prone area – even those who lived no where near water.
In total, residents in over 150 cities and unincorporated areas would have to purchase flood insurance in addition to their homeowners insurance in case a flood hit the area, which could have added as much as $500 to $1,700 to their policies per year.
This did not sit well with many homeowners, some of whom decided to fight the new flood map designations.
FEMA’s Withdrawal
After FEMA decided to review its new topographic data, it decided to remove 876 parcels in the Parks Mesa Heights neighborhood. According to the agency, it included this area in the high-hazard zone mistakenly.
There are still just over 2,300 residents, however, who will be obligated to purchase this insurance if they are on the map and hold a federally-backed mortgage.
Dozens of homeowners are still protesting that FEMA relied on faulty information while updating its maps. Some activists in the area still think that FEMA should remove the other properties in the area from its list since the data it is using is outdated. A spokeswoman for the Public Works Department is seeking a grant to pay for detailed analysis of the broader flood zone in hopes of further revisions.
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2 Responses to “Some Residents in Southern California Get Flood Insurance Mandate Lifted”
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Fighting the new flood map?You may be entitled to Reimbursement of certain expenses; appropriation authorization US Code from Cornell University http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/search/display.html?terms=flood&url=/uscode/html/uscode42/usc_sec_42_00004104—-000-.html TITLE 42 > CHAPTER 50 > SUBCHAPTER III > § 4104§ 4104. Flood elevation determinations (f) Reimbursement of certain expenses; appropriation authorization When, incident to any appeal under subsection (b) or (c) of this section, the owner or lessee of real property or the community, as the case may be, incurs expense in connection with the services of surveyors, engineers, or similar services, but not including legal services, in the effecting of an appeal which is successful in whole or part, the Director shall reimburse such individual or community to an extent measured by the ratio of the successful portion of the appeal as compared to the entire appeal and applying such ratio to the reasonable value of all such services, but no reimbursement shall be made by the Director in respect to any fee or expense payment, the payment of which was agreed to be contingent upon the result of the appeal. There is authorized to be appropriated for purposes of implementing this subsection, not to exceed $250,000.
The Funding to temporary extend this program is in the Senate Banking as we speak.We all know how bad FEMA manages programs.Its terrible management of the floods in New Orleans and in Texas.Congressman Brian Higgins called the NFIP the worse federal program he has ever seen.FEMA pays the insurance industry $ .71 cents of every dollar in premiums it collects before one single claim is paid out. The NFIP owes the US Treasury 20 billion dollar, but has paid out only $11.6 billion dollars in claims since 1978.FEMA has been unwilling to correct bad data used in new flood maps, the program puts the burden on the tax payers to correct bad data used for this new insurance maps.From the Trailers they never used because they were stuck in the mud out west.Its very questionable relationship with the insurance industry.Unwilling to correct bad data they used in updating the Flood insurance maps.Lets stop this waste.Lets help balance the budget. Lets cut this wasteful federal program.Tell your Congressman and Senators not to fund the NFIP.