We're working on getting a stilted canal house under contract right now. I just got a quote on flood insurance and am totally shocked. I'm convinced that the guy is off by a decimal point - hopefully someone here will help me with some experience.

the house is older and only 14' off the water. the flood premium quote was for $17K/yr! does that make sense?? I would be surprised if 10% of the residents in the neighborhood can afford that. WTH? homeowners ins rate is $6K. Taxes are 2.7%. How is this place not a ghost town? How is the entire island of Galveston (fiscally) inhabitable?

Can you get it jacked and lifted a few feet?

A few years back when we almost settled full time in Surfside it was $12-14k/yr if I remember correctly.
I had sticker shock as well.

In the end we didn't end up buying there ( not only because of that)

MouthBQ98 said:

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Can you get it jacked and lifted a few feet?

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I'm sure, but I would need the flood rate to drop by 85% (random guess) to make sense of the costs.

current code calls for 17-18' off the water.

Did you provide an elevation survey?

Look at the major US / US territory events that caused catastrophic damage with flooding

Harvey
Irma
Maria
Florence
Michael (more of a wind event)
Are you getting a flood quote through NFIP? They are going to be the cheapest as they are federally subsidized. They haven't produced a profit ever and are billions in debt, which tells you they aren't charging enough.

I work on the high risk commercial side of things and anything near the water needing Flood or Storm Surge cover can easily double or triple the all-risk premium.

Try to understand the risk of Flood for your home and where it is located. It wouldn't take a major hurricane event (probably just a CAT 3) to produce enough surge to cause substantial damage.

Take the value of your home divided by your premium and that is your payback period without any profit or expenses for an insurance carrier, and these companies need to make money like everyone else.

There are things you can do to limit your losses if you self-insure, but if you get just a foot of water on the first floor, that means new dry wall, floors, cabinets, and wiring.

How your elevation compares to the base flood elevation for your area is the biggest factor in flood rates. 14 ft is likely well below the base flood elevation which is driving that rate.

Is there an enclosure on the ground floor? Even if it is just a little storage area an enclosure on the ground floor can have a significant impact on the rate as well.

If it is on a barrier island Fema (NFIP) won't touch it.

Have you priced windstorm yet? Or is that in the $6k homeowners?

My parent's have a beach front house on the West End of Galveston and it cost them $50k per year to own it between taxes and insurance. I believe that their house is above the BFE as well.

Try GIA for a second quote https://www.gia-tx.com/

I live on the water , but it's my primary home. My insurance is through fema and they only insure up to $250k. The rates aren't bad this year. They made me get a new elevation certificate this year. I thought that was strange

If you check the fema flood plain maps they'll tell you what zone you're in. Then you need to know you're base elevation. If you're below fema's base elevation requirements then rates are horrific, unless it's your primary residence.

I know a lot of people are selling second homes because of insurance rates like the one you received

Making it your primary home solves a lot of the issues but I think I had to sign something formal looking this year stating this was my primary residence.

Check with Lloyd's of London. Seriously. I used them on a condo in port a. They were the cheapest around. I did hear getting them to pay after Harvey was tough.

If you're financing it I think you have to use fema.
It's a tough deal.

Flood insurance along the coast is expensive? Well raise my rent.

Ifishandlie said:

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I live on the water , but it's my primary home. My insurance is through fema and they only insure up to $250k. The rates aren't bad this year. They made me get a new elevation certificate this year. I thought that was strange

If you check the fema flood plain maps they'll tell you what zone you're in. Then you need to know you're base elevation. If you're below fema's base elevation requirements then rates are horrific, unless it's your primary residence.

I know a lot of people are selling second homes because of insurance rates like the one you received

Making it your primary home solves a lot of the issues but I think I had to sign something formal looking this year stating this was my primary residence.

Check with Lloyd's of London. Seriously. I used them on a condo in port a. They were the cheapest around. I did hear getting them to pay after Harvey was tough.

If you're financing it I think you have to use fema.
It's a tough deal.

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I'll save you the time - you are in zone AE

FEMA would probably list a house on top of Mount Everest as Zone AE.

HTownAg98 said:

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Flood insurance along the coast is expensive? Well raise my rent.

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It's really not, with the exception of a few areas.

I pay $600 a year for flood insurance. Should pay about half that, but FEMA is an ******* organization that does not rely on hard data or modern technology, so I'm stuck with a hand drawn map and them claiming that since part of my property is in the 100 year flood plain, all of it must be (never mind that with the last 5 years of floods, I've not come close to flooding - including Harvey).

We along the coast get absolutely shafted with the state mandated wind and storm insurance policy though. Because there are no wind or storms of any magnitude in any other part of the state. That's an expensive policy. Homeowners is what you decide it is.

I love having to pay for 3 separate policies, all of which have all kinds of caveats and exemptions and what not. It makes me happy. Or something.

Windstorm replaces more roofs along the coast than anything. I love it. We get high wind or hail and a new roof. I've never felt screwed by windstorm.

My elderly parents live on lake lbj. The flood destroyed the bottom of their home. Fema was there within 24 hours. No lie. We had a check within 7 days. Most painless insurance I've ever dealt with. I was impressed.

I don't think the rates are fair in all cases, BUT, if you ever need them they do a good job.