Elmont, New York

... This week is National flood safety awareness week...

Today's topic is flood insurance.

In 1968... Congress created the National flood insurance
program (nfip) in response to the rising cost of taxpayer funded
disaster relief for flood victims and the increasing amount of
damage caused by floods. Flood losses aren't covered by your
homeowners insurance policy. Local flooding can happen at almost any
time of the year. Flooding causes more damage in the United States
than any other severe weather related event... an average of $4.6
billion a year from 1984 to 2003.

You can Purchase National flood insurance from private
insurance companies and agents. In fact... you may be able to
Purchase it with a credit card. Currently... there are over 100
insurance companies that sell National flood insurance coverage, in
addition to some 60000 independent insurance agents.

If the seller of the property has flood insurance coverage
on the building... that policy can be assigned to the buyer at the
time of closing. If the mortgage company requires flood insurance as
a condition of the loan... the lender may escrow flood insurance
premiums - making it easy to ensure that you will not get caught
without flood insurance when a flood threatens your home.

Anyone can Purchase National flood insurance... no matter
where you live, if your community participates in the nfip... except
in the coastal barrier resources system (cbrs) areas. The program
was created in 1968 to provide flood insurance to people who live in
areas with the greatest risk of flooding... called special flood
hazard areas (sfhas). In fact... under the National flood insurance
act... lenders must require borrowers whose property is located
within an sfha to Purchase flood insurance as a condition of
receiving a federally regulated mortgage loan. There is an exemption
for conventional loans on properties within coastal barrier
resources system areas.

Lenders should notify borrowers that their property is located in an
special flood hazard areas and National flood insurance is required.

The topics that we will focus on the rest of this week are:
Friday... flood safety.

For more information on flood awareness week use this web site:

Http://www.Erh.NOAA.Gov/okx/floodawareness_week2010.Html

If you need additional information... contact Gary conte or Nancy
furbush via email at Gary.Conte@noaa.Gov or Nancy.Furbush@noaa.Gov.