On May 31st Congress allowed the national flood program to expire once again. As of today, June 10, 2010, there has been no renewal of the flood insurance program. This is a key issue especially since a number of areas in Ohio are being resurveyed and rezoned on the national flood insurance map. Homes that were once in Zone C or X which mean they are not in a 100 year flood zone are now being classified as a Zone A or other Zone which puts them in a 100 year flood zone.
What is the significant of this? Well, if you own a home in the rezoned area that is now in a 100 year flood zone and your home has a mortgage on it, you will be required by the bank or other lending institution to purchase flood insurance. A lot of times this can be a costly policy.
What happens if you don’t buy a flood policy? The mortgage company will purchase it for you and then bill you. Unfortunately there is no way around it as long as you have a mortgage on the property.
The ironic thing about this whole situation is that right now, as of the day this blog entry was written, you can not purchase flood insurance. Flood insurance is purchased through the national flood program (FEMA) and as mentioned above the program is temporarily expired. We will be sure to keep you posted on our blog as to when the program might be back up and running. In the mean time if you have received notice from your bank that you are now in a flood zone and must purchase flood insurance feel free to get in touch with your friendly Fey Insurance Representative.
