What is a Flood Elevation Certificate?
If you find that your property is located in a higher risk flood zone, depending on the year of construction you may be required to obtain an elevation certificate. Homes located in special flood hazard areas that were built after the community began participating in the National Flood Insurance Program are required to provide an elevation certificate within one year of the newly issued policy. For some homeowners, the certificate may save significant flood insurance premiums long-term if the certificate proves a positive relationship between the elevation of the home and the base flood elevation of the area.
What is an elevation certificate?
It provides information on:
- elevation
- building type
- flood map location
- additional information used to determine the proper flood insurance premium rates for a property.
An elevation certificate measures the difference in elevation between your home and the base flood elevation of your area. It is required in order to properly rate post-FIRM buildings, which are buildings constructed after the publication of the first Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) in a particular community, in zones A1-A30, AE, AH, A (with BFE), VE, V1-V30, V (with BFE), AR, AR/A, AR/AE, AR/A1-A30, AR/AH, and AR/AO. However, an elevation certificate is not required to buy flood coverage for pre-FIRM buildings unless the property owner or insurance agent wants to rate the buildings under the post-FIRM flood insurance rules to determine if the premium rate would be lower.
What are the requirements?
The elevation certificate must be signed and sealed by a land surveyor, engineer or architect authorized by law to certify such information. Most elevation certificates are prepared by surveyors licensed by the state in which the subject property is located.
For questions on your policy and whether or not you need an elevation certificate, shoot us an email; one of our experts here at Gordon Insurance will get back to you.
