Friday, December 13, 2013

Seminole couple hit with $44,000 flood insurance premium | Tampa Bay Times

I am afraid for real estate agents it's going to come down to what you knew when. There certainly has to be some disclosure about flood insurance rates from now on. Click title for link to article. Here is a bit:
Six weeks ago, they got the new numbers: the Greenwoods' $4,300 annual flood insurance premium would increase by about 900 percent. When their policy comes due next July, they will owe the federal government nearly $44,000, the highest documented flood insurance premium in Pinellas County.
"How could that even be possible?" Aaron Greenwood, 43, wondered at the time.
The explanation lies in the Biggert-Waters act, which was passed to stabilize the debt-plagued national flood insurance program by eliminating subsidies and raising rates. The law has turned places such as Pinellas into a battleground over whether the new rates are fair.