Saving thousands through grandfathering.Gloucester, MA Condo Association
Many times grandfathering through the National Flood Insurance Program can help solve otherwise extreme flood insurance costs. In this case, it saved thousands.
The member of a condo association Board of Directors in Gloucester, MA came to Joe Flood after finding him on the internet. She needed a solution to a problem with a condo flood master policy. In the flood industry, such policies are known as Residential Condo Building Association Policy, or RCBAP for short.
Challenge.
The existing building had started demolition in 2013. Shortly thereafter, a new foundation was poured. At the time, the zone was AE and Base Flood Elevation was 8 feet. Construction didn’t start again until 2017, and in the meantime, the flood maps had changed in 2014. The flood zone remained AE, but the Base Flood Elevation had changed to 14 feet. The building’s lowest floor was elevation 11 feet, putting it 3 feet below the flood elevation on the new map. The client was receiving flood quotes of over $14,000.
Solution.
When Joe investigated, he was able to confirm the building permit was pulled before the flood maps changed in 2014, therefore he was able to grandfather to the Base Flood Elevation of 8 feet. This put the building’s lowest floor 3 feet above the prior Base Flood Elevation of 8 feet. Other agencies that the client was working to obtain flood insurance quotes from had made several errors, including incorrectly grandfathering the building, and rating the building as a commercial condo.
Results.
By addressing those errors, Joe increased the available coverage for the building from $500,000 to $750,000. The premium was reduced to $1,400 a year with a $5,000 dedcutible.
Our flood insurance was unreasonably high and our situation was extremely complicated as we began a large home renovation and expansion project. Joe worked with our architect and builder to execute a mitigation plan, while reducing our insurance premium by about 85%. In addition to being knowledgeable and effective, he was great to work with; he was professional, responsive, and a good guy.
