House Passes Flood Bill

Business Hours: Monday-Friday 9am - 5 pm Flood Insurance Rate Relief

Flood Rate Relief in Sight Florida Property Insurance Trends for Realtors  By Matt Lehn Property Insurance in Florida  seems like it changes with the tides.  The purpose of this email is to keep local Charlotte and Sarasota County Realtors  and Real Estate related businesses up to date on the ups and downs of the local Property Insurance market. Flood Insurance-  As of 8 pm on March 4th the House of Representatives voted to pass  a bill, called the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act . What does this mean? •Prevents FEMA from raising the average rates for a class of properties above 15% and from raising rates on individual policies above 18% per year for virtually all properties. • Refunds homeowners who overpaid – Requires FEMA to refund policyholders for overpaid premiums. • Repeals the property sales trigger – Repeals the provision in Biggert-Waters that required homebuyers to pay the full-risk rate for pre-FIRM properties (Built prior to 1975 in most cases) at the time of purchase. This provision caused property values to steeply decline and made many homes unsellable, hurting the real estate market. Under the Menendez/Grimm Bill, homebuyers will receive the same treatment as the home seller. Same rates. • Repeals the new policy sales trigger – Repeals the provision in Biggert-Waters that required pre-FIRM property owners to pay the full-risk rate if they voluntarily purchase a new policy. This provision disincentivizes property owners from making responsible decisions and could hurt program participation. The Menendez/Grimm Bill allows pre-FIRM property owners to voluntarily purchase a policy under pre-FIRM conditions.  Homeowners wont be penalized if they let their policy lapse or change companies. • Reinstates grandfathering –  If grandfathering was terminated, property owners mapped into higher risk would have to either elevate their structure or have higher rates phased in over 5 years. The Menendez/Grimm Bill allows grandfathering to continue and sets hard caps on how high premiums can increase annually. • Affordability goal – Requires FEMA to minimize the number of policies with annual premiums that exceed one percent of the total coverage provided by the policy. What Now???  The Bill needs to be ratified by the Senate.  Once ratified, we can only hope for quick action by the National Flood Insurance Program. For more information on Flood or Property Insurance contact Matt Lehn of Lehn & Vogt Insurance at 941-698-8877 or by email matt@lehnandvogt.com Lehn & Vogt Insurance 2980 S McCall Rd Englewood, FL 34224 Click here to find out more.