Even though we have a yearly hurricane season, 2017 has proved to be nearly fatal to FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). They’ve been facing substantial financial woes for years; then Harvey hit us. Then Irma. Then Maria. Then Nate. And every single request for assistance puts the entire program in peril.
Previously, we’ve blogged about the serious financial problems the NFIP has been facing for a while, and how they are still trying to deal with requests for assistance that go as far back as 2005. We’ve also been keeping close attention to proposed legislation to help FEMA get out of their black hole. However, four months later, and nothing has been done in Washington DC to assist with one of the most important federal agencies in our nation.
Now, amidst a long list of people applying for relief after the 2017 hurricane season, FEMA is in danger of running out of money by the end of the month. You read that right. Three weeks left of funds. At first, our main concern was that our premiums would go up. Now we have to worry about the fact that despite of our perilous location for hurricane season, there won’t be enough to assist us should we suffer any losses.
What can you do to protect your home?
Right now, the most sensible route would be to obtain private flood insurance, which provides a higher cap than NFIP. However, if you’ve been in your current location for several years and have never experienced a flood, first determine whether you’re really in a high-risk flood area. If you aren’t, you can petition FEMA to get your property removed from such a designation (as a result, saving thousands of dollars in flood insurance).
However, if you are in a high risk flood zone, do a careful assessment of what your real needs would be in case of loss due to a food. At National Flood Experts we can assist you (for free!) to do the home evaluation. We can also help you with the FEMA appeals process or shopping around for adequate flood insurance.
Whatever your flood insurance needs, contact us, and let us help you.