Cost of flood insurance poised to rise for thousands in Hampton Roads
Mother Nature has spared U.S. coastal cities from devastating hurricanes this season, but some local homeowners should brace themselves nonetheless.
The cost of flood insurance for thousands of properties in South Hampton Roads soon could go up – significantly in some cases.
Subsidies that have kept insurance costs down for many homeowners across the country will be phased out beginning Oct 1. And those discounts no longer will be transferable from owner to owner, which will add hundreds or thousands of dollars to the annual out-of-pocket costs for buyers of such homes.
On top of that, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is redrawing flood zone boundaries. Houses that aren’t in a flood zone now might find themselves on the riskier side of the line once the maps are finalized in 2014. Those homes will have to be insured against flooding.