Florida Flood Insurance Options
Photo by Cole Patrick on Unsplash
With the ongoing changes in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), many Florida homeowners are reaching deeper into their pockets to pay the mortgage. Over the past few years flood insurance premiums through the federal program have been consistently rising and aren’t expected to stop any time soon.
Ballooning flood premiums have caught many coastal homeowners off-guard as the cost of their escrowed mortgage payments are steadily increasing. Fortunately for Florida residents, there are now several alternatives.
Private insurance carriers have seen the profitability in the state of Florida, where the NFIP has received substantially more flood insurance premium from insured clients than they have paid out in claims. In fact, when the NFIP changes arose in 5 years ago, the Tampa Bay Times Reported that Florida property owners helped support the NFIP by paying four times more than what they have gotten back in claims. FEMA’s most recent annual data shows that flood payouts were just over 17 Million while in-force premium was $962 Million as of February 2018. According to these figures, the State of Florida has been supporting the National Flood Insurance Program, yet Florida residents are paying increased costs to support the past claims from other states.
What can Florida residents do to provide relief as flood premiums continue to rise? It’s important to know that there are options available through private market flood insurance that can potentially save on insurance costs. Although, we recommend weighing all options, there are also risks involved with private market flood insurance. When opting out of the NFIP and choosing a private flood insurance provider, we stress the risk of losing the potential subsidy in the NFIP. This means that if you were to be non-renewed by the private flood insurance provider after a flood loss, if no other private market carrier will accept the risk, then the NFIP would charge the actuary value to re-enter the NFIP. So rather than your flood premium increasing gradually over the next decade in the NFIP, you would incur the instant jump in premium. There is also a 30-day wait to re-enter the National Flood Insurance Program.
Regardless of the risk of losing potential NFIP subsidy, many Florida homeowners are making the switch to private market flood insurance and realizing immediate savings. There are also options to lock in the first-year premium and ensure that premium doesn’t increase in the coming years due to claims or capacity. If you are interested in your flood insurance options, we suggest scheduling an appointment with a Moore Resources Insurance Agent to learn about the advantages and drawbacks of each program.
Moore Resources is an Independent Insurance Agency located in St. Petersburg, FL and offering Homeowners Insurance, Auto Insurance, Personal Insurance and Business Insurance. Our reach extends beyond the Tampa Bay area to the entire state of Florida. Moore Resources has regionally been dedicated to serving the local residents of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties; including St. Pete, Tampa, Clearwater, Bradenton, Brandon, Dunedin, Gulfport, Lakeland, Largo, Lutz, Palm Harbor, Pinellas Park, Riverview, Ruskin, Seffner, Seminole, Temple Terrace, Tierra Verde, Town n Country, and the Gulf Coast Beaches.
The purpose of this blog is to present general information only. It does not interpret specific policies or coverage. In order to obtain detailed information regarding your insurance, contact a licensed insurance agent.
