When do i need a flood elevation certificate

Find your state coordinator here. Ask the sellers. When buying a property, ask the sellers to give you their Elevation Certification. Ask the developer or builder. In a high-risk area, the developer or builder might have been required to get an Elevation Certification at the time of construction. An Allstate agent can answer coverage questions and help you find ways to protect what matters most. If your property is considered high risk of flooding, you'll likely need to obtain FEMA's elevation certificate for your property before you can buy flood insurance.

The certificate shows how your property's elevation compares to the base flood elevation on a flood map, FEMA explains. Structures that sit at the base flood elevation are considered to have a 1 percent chance of flooding each year.

Your property's lowest point of elevation is compared to the base flood elevation to help determine its flood risk and how much you'll pay for a flood insurance policy, FEMA says. In addition, you will probably need a new elevation certificate if you make significant changes to your property. For example, building an addition or converting a garage into livable space may change your home's lowest point of elevation and flood risk, according to FEMA.

If you're purchasing a home , you may also want to ask the sellers to give you its elevation certificate, if they have one, or to provide it before your closing, FEMA suggests. Likewise, if you're building a new home in an area that's high risk for flooding, the builder may have been required to obtain an elevation certificate, which you can ask them to give you. If yours didn't, there are other ways you can obtain one. If your community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, the floodplain manager at your local municipal office can tell you whether an elevation certificate is already on file there, FEMA says.

Hiring a professional land surveyor to evaluate your property and complete a new or updated elevation certificate is another option, according to FEMA. Please note, Neptune does not write flood insurance online in all states. Getting flood insurance without a Flood Elevation Certificate depends on both where you live and what flood insurance carriers are available in your area.

It may not be possible for you to get a policy without one, but for many people across the country there are options. Another benefit of working with an independent flood insurance agent is that they can help walk you through the insurance process and feel more confident in the coverage you choose. Learn more about working with an independent insurance agency here. Give us a call today at for a quote. Connect on Linkedin. Tweets by massiveflood.

Skip to main content. About Us. Why do I need an Elevation Certificate? Josh Price Elevation Certificates 0 Comment s. The elevation difference between the structure and BFE is used for many risk, mitigation, construction, and insurance issues such as: Determining flood insurance policy rates. Without an Elevation Certificate, your home may not be rated properly and you could be paying unnecessarily high rates. Rebuilding the structure after a disaster to the proper elevation to protect it in the future.

Remodeling a property or raising it to help mitigation future losses from flood disasters. Stay safe.