Latest Flood Insurance Estimates: Some Homeowners Are Winners, Others Losers

Anyone living in a South Jersey Shore town heard the initial, alarmingly high-end estimates for obtaining flood insurance if your home was in the highest-risk flood zone... more than $30,000 a year.

The good news for all shore homeowners is that rates that high are no longer being mentioned in the new National Flood Insurance Program's revised plan.

As a matter of fact, some homeowners may end up spending less - only $553 a year - if their home is 4 feet above the base flood elevation, or they elevate the home to that level.

However, those Shore homeowners with a house 4 feet below the base flood elevation could still face yearly premiums of $10,723, or possibly more in extreme cases.  While this cost is significantly less than that initial high-end proposal of $31,500; it's still far too high for many homeowners.

According to the Asbury Park Press, " When flood maps and premiums are finally settled, it could reconfigure the Jersey Shore. Faced with high premiums or high reconstruction costs despite government grants, some homeowners could choose to walk away. Others with more money could step in to pick up what could be considered bargain real estate at the Jersey Shore".

Here is a graph provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the NFIP, with three insurance premium estimates in the AE zone.

Read more on this story from the Asbury Park Press