Is This Your Primary Home? Make Sure You’re Not Paying Too Much on Your Flood Insurance Surcharge
Part of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HFIAA) requires the collection of an annual premium flood insurance surcharge of either $250 or $25 for each NFIP flood insurance policy. It’s important for policyholders to know the difference between each charge, and to make sure they are paying the correct amount.
Residential policyholders may qualify for the lower $25 flood insurance surcharge if the policyholder or the policyholder’s spouse:
- Reside in the residence more than 50% of the policy’s annual term; and
- The building isn’t used as a rental or income property during the policy term; and
- The building occupancy falls into one of the categories below:
- Owner of a single-family home
- Owner of a 2- to 4-family building
- Owner of a residential condo unit
- Residential tenant
Additionally, policyholders who don’t meet the 51% residence requirement because of an active duty military assignment, displacement from a loss event or hospitalization may also qualify but should discuss details with their agent. If the qualifications are met, check your policy to confirm it’s listed as your primary residence and you are paying the correct $25 HFIAA flood insurance surcharge. Contact your agent to change your status and request an update to the policy.
On occasion, policyholders will change their mailing address – even if it’s to a P.O. Box – and the flood insurance surcharge automatically changes to $250. It’s critical to verify that your primary residence address is correct on your new declarations page.
Documentation to verify primary residence will be required when the property address and mailing address on the policy do not match. To complete the update, one of the following documents is required and should be submitted to your agent:
- Automobile registration
- Proof of insurance for a vehicle
- Homestead Tax Credit form for a primary residence
- Documents showing where children attend school
- Signed and dated primary residence verification statement that can be found here
If you have questions about your flood insurance surcharge or are interested in learning more about all of the flood insurance alternatives Wright offers, please call (866) 373-5663 or visit http://wrightflood.com.