Information from the Office of Insurance Regulation re Commissioner Urges Floridians to Purchase Flood Insurance 05/10/06

Please see the below Information from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation regarding Flood Insurance.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Colodny Fass.

COMMISSIONER URGES FLORIDIANS TO PURCHASE FLOOD INSURANCE

Tallahassee – Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty urged Floridians to purchase flood insurance to protect their homes. McCarty’s warning comes on the eve of the 2006 hurricane season which officially begins June 1.

“One of the many tragedies of Hurricane Katrina,” McCarty notes, “was that many people were unaware that flood damage is not covered by their homeowners policies. Buying flood insurance is easy, affordable, and provides an extra layer of security in the event of a catastrophic event.”

This fact became critical during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as up to 80% of properties damaged in Mississippi, and 60% of properties in low-lying New Orleans did not have flood coverage.

“I am pleased to report that in Florida nearly 34% of Florida’s homes do have flood insurance, but that still leaves two-thirds of families without this coverage. Even people outside of the flood zones need this coverage,” McCarty adds. A recent Rand Corporation study showed that one-third of all floods occurred outside standard flood hazard areas; however, only one percent of people outside the flood plains buy insurance. Commissioner McCarty has been a long-standing advocate of updating outdated flood zone maps used by the National Flood Insurance Program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Congress is attempting to address this problem, and has passed several bills including a provision that appropriated $750 million for flood map modernization, as well as provisions that raised the coverage limits, and increased FEMA�s borrowing authority. With the new legislation, Florida consumers would be able to purchase flood insurance for up to $335,000 in property damage, and $135,000 for personal contents. Most flood insurance policies average less than $450 a year in the flood zone and less than $300 a year outside the flood zone.

Information about the National Flood Insurance Program can be found at the Federal Emergency Management Agency�s website at: http://www.fema.gov/nfip. In addition, consumers can check their relative flood risk by visiting http://www.floodsmart.gov and entering some simple property information. The tool provides consumers with the relative flood risk of a property and links to flood insurance resources.