Stricter Building Standards
As stated, Bay County homeowners living in floodplains must meet code standards. Individuals are instructed to raise their foundations if their hurricane damage repair costs exceed a certain threshold.
There are many homeowners that are unaware this is happening, which is alarming. The country has received calls from the residents residing in the floodplains that state they did not know they did not meet the stricter regulations. This is almost too late before they can get building permits to repair damage from Hurricane Michael. Officials state the extra regulations are needed so homeowners can keep access to relatively cheap federal flood insurance. If residents do not comply, affordable insurance may no longer be an option.
Attention Flood Zone Residents
There are roughly 104,000 people who live in the floodplains. Of this number, there is a good portion of them are in the dark when it comes to these new regulations. The county wants the public to be aware of this. They want them to be informed in order to avoid strife and delays in their repairs down the road. If the public is informed, they also get the chance to work with their insurance companies and receive the benefits they need.
The regulations on rebuilding will not apply to every floodplain homeowner, though. Any home reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvements must meet the regulations only if the work equals or exceeds 50 percent of the building’s market value. Once the cost threshold is reached, the homes must meet the same standards as a new building, which typically means building up to current codes and raising the foundation to or above the base flood elevation.
Are you wondering who is behind these regulations? These are required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program. Since 1981, the county has participated in the program, aimed at making federal flood insurance available to homeowners living in floodplains. Without federal flood insurance, residents would only have access to private flood insurance options, which can be much more expensive.
Call Us Today
Trueway Insurance is an insurance company located in Lake Worth. We offer affordable insurance for home, car, among others. This includes those living in a flood zone. We are here to provide quality for our customers because we believe in the power that insurance can have in any person’s life. If you are interested in learning more about what we can do for you or you have further questions regarding notaries and how they play a part in the insurance process, contact us at TrueWay Insurance today.
