One thing new Florida residents may not know is that your typical home owner insurance policy does not cover flooding. In fact, any home owner needs to have a separate flood insurance policy to cover flooding. FEMA is rolling out changes to the national flood insurance program which is the carrier for about 90% of Floridians with flood insurance.
Over 1.7 million policy holders, or around 80% of people will see their premiums go up starting October 1st. If you live close to water or in a flood zone, you could be facing much higher premiums.
Risk Rating 2.0 will be the new system which goes in effect October 1st for new policy holders. The difference is homes proximity to water and drainage of that water will be incorporated into the price and how much it would cost to rebuild each home. Now people with existing policies won't see an increase in their premiums until April 1st of 2022.
Florida has the cheapest rates of any state, averaging $597 a year compared to the United States average of $958. Florida also has the most flood policy holders at nearly 33% and the third most flood insurance claims.
The majority of policy premiums will go up between $10 and $100 per month, but not more than 18% per year. For more information on these changes, you might want to go to a Q and A session at the Cape Coral Yacht Club Tuesday, October 12 from 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm.
