New Flood Insurance Rates Leave Sandy Victims With Sticker ...

By Colin Croughan ? | Posted Jul 10th 2013 3:52PM

Updated Jul 10th 2013 4:21PM

Residents of Valley Stream, N.Y., reportedly face a new headache in the wake of Hurricane Sandy -- a dramatic hike in flood insurance premiums. Though some of the residents have claimed that their Long Island neighborhood has never flooded, FEMA has reclassified the area as a high-risk flood zone. Valley Stream resident Joseph Margolin, who reports seeing his flood-insurance rates soar from $400 per year to $3,400, told cable station News 12 Long Island that the mapping of the high-risk flood zone in his area seems "arbitrary."

Asked about the hikes in an interview with the cable channel Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) agreed that premiums like those for a middle class family are outrageous, and will cause even bigger problems for the real estate sectors and homeowners in that Long Island community.

While it's long been the case that FEMA's flood mapping has affected insurance rates, the post-Sandy impact is suddenly leaving many in the East with sticker shock. (Pictured above is a street in Freeport, Long Island, a few days after Sandy struck.) David D. Curti of West Springfield, Conn., recently told a local newspaper that he saw his property reclassified from moderate risk to high risk, even though his area wasn't directly affected by the 2012 hurricane. Curti told Springfield's The Republican that he was quoted an increase from about $450 a year to about $1,200 annually, even though he lives about 30 feet above the Connecticut River.

Those living in the West have seen similar impact from the threat of wildfires, leaving some to opt to go without homeowners insurance rather than pay triple-digit increases in their premiums. A Las Vegas TV station reports of one owner of a mountain cabin threatened by flames who has refused authorities' order to evacuate, and instead is trying to keep flames at bay with a garden hose. KTNV quotes Rodney Giles, 63, as saying that a wall of fire came within 300 feet of his home, but that he plans to hang on until he absolutely has to leave.

See more about the impact of Hurricane Sandy:
Old Map Keeps Breezy Point From Rebuilding After Sandy
Homebuyers Searching for Deals in Hurricane Sandy Wreckage
Hurricane Sandy and 2012's Other Natural Disasters Could Cost Homeowners for Years to Come

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Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/new-flood-insurance-rates-leave-sandy-victims-with-sticker-shock/

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