Flood waters don't care about lines on a map-they just cross right over them and can devastate the homes on the other side. At First American, we don't want that to happen to you. Even if you get the federal flood insurance requirement removed from your home, we strongly recommend that you purchase flood insurance. A Preferred Risk Policy through the National Flood Insurance Program is cheap compared to the cost of rebuilding your home all on your own. We've been there with our customers when snow melt flooded their homes. We've worked in the aftermath of tropical storms and hurricanes. We've seen flash floods wipe out homes in the desert. And those without flood insurance are left with nothing except additional debt.
Why do I need an Elevation Certificate?
What do "Pre-FIRM" and "Post-FIRM" mean?
Why Elevation Certificates Are Necessary
Reasons you may need an Elevation Certificate
Whether you're preparing to purchase flood insurance or you already have a policy, an Elevation Certificate may be useful to you.
An Elevation Certificate can be used:- for accurately rating flood insurance
- to ensure compliance with community floodplain management ordinances
- as a support document to apply for a Letter of Map Change to revise FEMA's flood map
For accurately rating flood insurance
Depending on the flood zone and the date the building was constructed, the NFIP may require an Elevation Certificate to provide flood insurance on a building. If a structure has a Pre-Firm construction date, an Elevation Certificate is optional for purchasing flood insurance. However, it may help assist your insurance agent in determining if you qualify for a lower premium. We recommend you contact our insurance agency at (800) 862-2070.
As a support document to apply for a Letter of Map Change to revise FEMA's flood map
An Elevation Certificate may show that a property is eligible for FEMA's Letter of Map Change (LOMC) process. FEMA can issue an LOMC removing a structure or property from a high risk flood zone because the Elevation Certificate shows that the structure or property is located above the Base Flood Elevation shown on FEMA's flood map.
How to save money by getting an Elevation Certificate
Because we realize that an Elevation Certificate can be a significant investment, we want to make sure you have the information you need to make an informed decision.
If you have specific flood insurance questions, questions about your existing policy, questions about the National Flood Insurance Program, or you would like to obtain a flood insurance quote, we suggest you contact our insurance agency, America's Innovative Insurance Solutions, Inc., at (800) 862-2070.
An Elevation Certificate can help you remove the federal flood insurance requirement from your property.
Let's face it-even with the manpower, mapping resources, and technology used to keep up with a community's ever-changing landscape, it can still be difficult for FEMA to indicate the exact detail of your individual property's elevation on their flood map. But FEMA requires that lenders make their flood zone determination using only FEMA's flood map-even though the information on the maps isn't exhaustive. For example, the map can indicate that your property is in a high-risk flood zone when in reality your house may be above the base flood elevation, either naturally or because the house was raised on fill dirt. In these instances, you may be eligible for FEMA's Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letter of Map Revision (LOMR-F).
