North Carolina’s homeowners get up to a 25% discount on disaster insurance by participating in community rating systems
By: Ramu Garuda August, 02, 2019
According to a Gavop study, North Carolina’s residents pay an average flood insurance premium of $370 per annum for a coverage of $100,000. Robbinsville records the lowest insurance premium rate of $678 per annum, while Whiteville reports the highest rate at $1,699.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which provides flood insurance in the country, provides a coverage of up to $2,500,000 to rebuild or repair a home or property after a flood. This policy covers
- homes with single families
- condominiums
- commercial buildings
- manufactured homes attached to a foundation
The flood insurance does not cover man-made flooding caused by broken pipes or sewer backups surges.
Currently, about 76 communities in North Carolina receive up to a 25% discount on their flood insurance premiums by participating in a community rating system. NFIP insurance holders with properties located in special flood hazard areas (SFHA) are required by law to purchase and maintain flood insurance to receive federal disaster assistance.
North Carolina has been affected by multiple natural disasters in the past. Almost every county in the state has been affected by at least two major floods caused by overwhelmed waterways or hurricane surges in the past half a century. Hurricane Floyd alone cost North Carolina damages worth $6 billion. The city of Wilmington received torrential rainfall of 484 mm, resulting in massive flooding from the cyclone.
According to Rule A9 of Homeowners North Carolina Windstorm and Hail Policy Program Manual Supplement, insurance companies must issue premium credits to policyholders to build, rebuild, or retrofit residential dwellings to better resist hurricanes and windstorms. This means North Carolina’s homeowners can avail multiple discounts on their disaster insurance by rebuilding their properties to withstand hurricanes and windstorms.
There are three levels of hurricane mitigation to fortify homes against hurricanes: bronze, silver, and gold. Insurance firms offer homeowners discounts for each protection level.
Homeowners in SFHAs must maintain flood insurance till the property ceases to exist under their name. Once the property is sold, the insurance requirement must be passed on to the new owner.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ramu Garuda
Ramu is a research analyst with over 9 years of analytics & research experience. Prior to joining the company, he worked with some of the prominent consulting and market research firms in India, including Pride Technology (Supporting consulting projects to PWC), RR Donnelly, and The Hackett Group. His skills include company profiling, benchmarking, data and trend analysis, industry analysis, and report writing across the industries. Ramu holds a Master’s degree in Finance and Marketing. He also has a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology.
