I’ve been following the Pinellas County flood insurance updates closely as I both am selling a home in a flood zone, and buying another in flood zone AE. Myself and all buyers are asking the question – who has the cheapest flood insurance rates, and do I have to go through FEMA?
The answer is, it depends. In my experience, sometimes FEMA insurance is cheaper (but subject to a 25% annual increase currently) and sometimes private insurers are cheaper. One I’ve been checking a lot lately is Lloyds of London. Lloyds does NOT use an elevation certificate to determine a home’s flood insurance, rather they go by zip codes and maps from what I understand. The only problem? Many mortgage lenders will not accept any flood policy but a FEMA backed policy.
However, there’s good news – our partners at Van Dyk Mortgage are now accepting private insurance policies for flood coverage! See the details below. Finally, buying in a flood zone may actually be becoming affordable once more.
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