| 115th Year, 19th Issue | Thursday, December 18th, 2003 | Sparta, North Carolina |
After slightly more than a year of waiting, the county will finally be emerging from the emergency phase of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), according to County Planner Jack Conaway.
Conaway said he received confirmation last week that the county will enter the regular phase of the program on Feb. 1, 2004. The county started work on joining the NFIP in late 2002, having passed a flood plain ordinance in November of that year. The ordinance, which officially took effect in on Jan. 1 of this year, governs construction and other work in flood-prone areas around waterways.
Soon after that ordinance was passed and submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the county received notification that local residents could start enrolling in the program as of Dec. 23, 2002. Under that plan, there was a 30-day waiting period before coverage went into effect.
Under the flood insurance's emergency phase, local residents' coverage was ‘capped' at $35,000 for a private home structure and $10,000 for contents. Renters also could purchase insurance on the contents of their homes. For commercial property, the coverage limit was $100,000. In that phase, the average cost of the insurance was $400 per year. However, Conaway said those caps were lifted under the regular phase and that the insurance rates will be changed based on several factors, including amount of coverage and actual risk.
It is worthy to note that any local resident can acquire coverage to protect against flood, regardless if their property is located in a designated flood area.
Those seeking loans from most banks will be required to purchase flood
insurance, along with their regular homeowners insurance.
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