Flood Insurance Costs Falling
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Homeowners in parts of Kosciusko County with flood insurance can expect to see one, possibly two reductions in their premiums.
As a result of work by the Kosciusko County Area Plan office, premiums for flood insurance will be reduced by 5 percent.
And more work by the office could possibly result in a total 10 percent reduction.
Assistant plan director Tanya Ford said the reduction comes after a series of steps, most of which are oriented toward helping landowners understand and cope with existing flood zone regulations.
For example, information about flood maps is available at five area libraries. And the plan office is offering advice on building in flood plane zones. The office is also doing a better job of tracking elevation certificates required in flood plane zones, Ford said.
The plan office prepared data that was forwarded to Insurance Services Inc., a private firm that makes recommendations to the federal flood insurance program.
The entire county had been rated as a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Recent work upgraded the rating to a 9 and cut premiums by 5 percent. More work would improve it to a classification of 8 and include another 5 percent reduction, Ford said.
Annual premiums vary greatly, but with the initial reduction, the average homeowner could see about a $50 reduction, Ford said.
The Area Plan Commission represents unincorporated areas of the county along with three towns: Milford, Syracuse and North Webster.
Unincorporated parts of the county scored the lowest because those areas included all of the recent flood insurance claims. Most of those were near the Tippecanoe and Barbee lakes chains, she said.
Part of further improving the rating could depend on passage of a storm water-erosion control plan that could be developed.
The ordinance would monitor, in part, the amount of fill dirt homeowners can use on their property. Large amounts of fill dirt on one property can cause undue runoff of rainwater onto adjacent properties.
Such an ordinance can improve flood patterns, Ford said.
The proposal is being fine-tuned by the plan commission's technical committee and could be presented to the plan commission by December. A recommendation by the commission would then be sent to the county commissioners, who have final authority.
Efforts to reduce premiums were applauded by county commissioner Eddie Creighton last week when the commissioner heard an update on the program.
"They really do some good things other than just regulations," Creighton said. [[In-content Ad]]
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Homeowners in parts of Kosciusko County with flood insurance can expect to see one, possibly two reductions in their premiums.
As a result of work by the Kosciusko County Area Plan office, premiums for flood insurance will be reduced by 5 percent.
And more work by the office could possibly result in a total 10 percent reduction.
Assistant plan director Tanya Ford said the reduction comes after a series of steps, most of which are oriented toward helping landowners understand and cope with existing flood zone regulations.
For example, information about flood maps is available at five area libraries. And the plan office is offering advice on building in flood plane zones. The office is also doing a better job of tracking elevation certificates required in flood plane zones, Ford said.
The plan office prepared data that was forwarded to Insurance Services Inc., a private firm that makes recommendations to the federal flood insurance program.
The entire county had been rated as a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Recent work upgraded the rating to a 9 and cut premiums by 5 percent. More work would improve it to a classification of 8 and include another 5 percent reduction, Ford said.
Annual premiums vary greatly, but with the initial reduction, the average homeowner could see about a $50 reduction, Ford said.
The Area Plan Commission represents unincorporated areas of the county along with three towns: Milford, Syracuse and North Webster.
Unincorporated parts of the county scored the lowest because those areas included all of the recent flood insurance claims. Most of those were near the Tippecanoe and Barbee lakes chains, she said.
Part of further improving the rating could depend on passage of a storm water-erosion control plan that could be developed.
The ordinance would monitor, in part, the amount of fill dirt homeowners can use on their property. Large amounts of fill dirt on one property can cause undue runoff of rainwater onto adjacent properties.
Such an ordinance can improve flood patterns, Ford said.
The proposal is being fine-tuned by the plan commission's technical committee and could be presented to the plan commission by December. A recommendation by the commission would then be sent to the county commissioners, who have final authority.
Efforts to reduce premiums were applauded by county commissioner Eddie Creighton last week when the commissioner heard an update on the program.
"They really do some good things other than just regulations," Creighton said. [[In-content Ad]]