Flood Insurance FAQs
What is the 100-Year Flood Plain?
How can a surveyor assist me in obtaining flood insurance?
How long does it take to get an Elevation Certificate?
How much does it cost to get an Elevation
Certificate?
Why is my lender requiring me to get flood insurance?
Why do I need flood insurance; my property has never flooded?
How much does flood insurance cost?
What is the 100-Year Flood Plain?
Areas shown as a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) on the Flood
Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) published by the
Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) for a particular community. These areas
are darkly shaded on the FIRM. Property which lies in a SFHA has a 1
percent chance of being flooded in any given year. It is important
to remember that this does not mean that the property will only
flood once ever 100 years, but that the area that has a 1 in 100
chance of being flooded in any year.
Back to Top
How can a surveyor assist me in obtaining flood insurance?
A surveyor will come to your property and determine the
elevation of your building and the area around it. This information
is used to prepare an
Elevation Certificate. It is this certificate that is used to
calculate the cost of flood insurance.
Back to Top
How long does it take to get an Elevation Certificate?
We can usually email the Elevation Certificate to you within four
working days.
Back to Top
How much does it cost to get an
Elevation Certificate?
Our standard fee for preparing an Elevation Certificate in Tarrant
County can be found here.
For property outside Tarrant County,
please
contact us.
Back to Top
Why is my lender requiring me to get flood insurance?
Federal law requires people who live in a Special Flood Hazard Area,
i.e. the 100-Year Flood Plain, to purchase flood insurance if they
have a mortgage from a federally regulated lender. This insurance
must be maintained as long as the mortgage continues.
Back to Top
Why do I need flood insurance; my property has never flooded?
The fact that a structure may not have ever suffered flood damage is
no protection against future loss. This is especially true of
property located in the flood plain. According to FEMA, property in
a flood plain has a 26% percent chance of flooding during the life
of a 30-year mortgage.
Back to Top
How much does flood insurance cost?
Flood insurance for property outside the flood plain can be
purchased for as little as $112 a year. Like all insurance, the
premium is based on the risk. In most areas, FEMA engineers have
determined the the Base Flood Elevation (BFE), which is how high
they calculate the flood waters will reach. Insurance for buildings
located well below the BFE can run several thousand dollars a year.
Insurance for structures above the BFE will cost substantially less. The average
flood insurance policy cost approximately $500 a year.
Back to Top