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One of the most effective options is relocat- ing your home on an area of your property that has its natural grade above the base fl ood elevation. This method may be costly, but can reduce or eliminate the need to pay fl ood in- surance entirely. If you are preparing to build a new home or structure, evaluate your prop- erty to determine if there is a suitable build- ing area outside of the fl oodplain. Be warned; homes constructed outside the fl oodplain (or on natural ground above the base fl ood eleva- tion) are not 100% safe from fl ooding. On av- erage, between 20-25% of all fl ood insurance claim payouts go to buildings that are located outside of the special fl ood hazard area. If your home is located outside the fl oodplain and you still want to be covered, affordable “Preferred Risk” policies are available. For more information on relocation, see FEMA Techni- cal Manual 312, Homeowner’s Guide to Retrofi tting. This brochure was produced in 2005 by the Mitigation Division of FEMA Region 10. Illustrated by Jeff Markham. If you have any questions regarding the content of this brochure or wish to obtain additional copies or a poster version, please contact FEMA Region X at [PHONE REDACTED]. J ust because your home or building is in the fl oodplain does not mean that you can’t reduce your fl ood insurance premiums. In fact, your building may have been built in a way that increases the cost of your annual premiums. This brochure identifi es the most common causes of high fl ood insurance rates and provides options that could reduce the amount you pay. If you’re consid- ering making a change to your home, whether it is a repair, remodel, or brand new building, consider some common practices that will provide you with the most affordable fl ood insurance rates and re- duce your risk from suffering fl ood damage. Consider the elevated house in this brochure. Origi- nally built in a fl oodplain after Flood Insurance Rate Maps were published, the mortgage company requires these homeowners to carry $100,000 of fl ood insurance coverage. Their annual premium was $1,255 per year. However, after they installed proper fl ood openings, elevated their utilities, removed the sub-grade crawlspace, and elevated the home, their premium was reduced to $190 per year for the same amount of coverage. Addressing just one of these modifi cations could reduce the annual cost of your fl ood insurance premium. Cheaper Flood Insurance 5 Ways to Lower the Cost of Your Flood Insurance Premium FEMA D671 Oct 2007 This brochure is intended to show activities that can affect fl ood insurance premiums. The methods and techniques to accomplish these structural modifi cations must be done in accordance with local building codes. Find more resources and information by visiting FEMA online at: www.fema.gov/nfi p/library.shtm www.fema.gov/techbul.shtm Relocation Publication No. D671 Catalog No. 07284-1 FEMA U . S . D E P A R T M E N T O F H O M E L A N D S E C U R I T Y Fl d Ch ---PAGE BREAK--- If you locate any machinery or equipment that services your building electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and air conditioning equip- ment) below the base fl ood elevation, an addi- tional surcharge will be added to your insurance premium causing your annual insurance rates to increase. If your house was elevated to a safer level, maximize your savings and reduce your losses by relocating your machinery and equip- ment above the base fl ood elevation. Consider using your attic, an extra closet, or an elevated platform (as shown) to store utilities. For more information on relocating utilities see FEMA publication 259: Engineering Principles and Practices of Retrofi tting Floodprone Residential Structures Utilities One common reason why insurance policies are rated so severely is due to a lack of proper fl ood openings. IBC/IRC minimum building code requirements for “foundation vents” in areas outside the fl oodplain may not meet the same specifi cations as “fl ood openings” or “fl ood vents” within a fl oodplain. For buildings in the fl oodplain, there must be at least two openings with 1 sq. inch of opening per sq ft of enclosed area, and the bottom of those openings can be no higher than 1ft above the exterior fi nished grade. There are no discounts for “partial credit.” If you have 1000 sq feet of enclosed crawlspace and 900 sq inches of openings, you will be charged as though there are no openings base- ment loading fees could apply). Don’t forget that garage doors, windows, and doors do not count as fl ood open- ings unless they have openings installed within them. For more information on fl ood openings, see FEMA Technical Bulletin 1-93 Flood Openings Unless explicitly authorized, basements in new build- ings constructed in the fl oodplain are prohibited. FEMA considers “crawlspaces” that are sub-grade on all sides to be basements as well. If your community has adopted building standards that allows such construction, homeowners in the fl oodplain with an excavated sub- grade crawlspace will bear an additional fi nancial bur- den through a 15-20% increase on their fl ood insurance premiums. When building, you can save that cost by backfi lling any excavated areas within the foundation. It can also be done at a later date by using pea-gravel or other suitable material to raise the interior crawlspace fl oor elevation to the same height or higher than the exterior fi nished grade. For more information on basements, see FEMA Technical Bulletin 11-01 Basements Elevating above the base fl ood elevation is the fastest way to reduce the cost of your annual fl ood insurance premium. You can save hun- dreds of dollars for every foot the elevated fl oor is located above your community’s established base fl ood elevation. Elevating just one foot above the base fl ood elevation often results in a 30% reduction in annual premiums. A hom- eowner with an elevated home, like the one shown on this poster with its fi rst fl oor elevated 3 feet above the base fl ood elevation, can expect to save 60% or more on annual fl ood insurance premiums. For more information on elevation, see FEMA Technical Bulletin 2-93 Elevation