National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

Special Flood Hazard Area Removal

A structure, property or a portion of a property can be removed from a special flood hazard area by submitting to FEMA a qualifying letter of map change request.

There are numerous types of requests for various types of situations. Not all properties can qualify for a letter of map change. Some can qualify by placing fill at the property, but this may not always be feasible or permissible.

For most letter of map amendment (LOMA) requests, Alaco utilizes FEMA's eLOMA platform for licensed professionals to expedite processing. LOMA requests are typically processed by FEMA representative Michael Baker/North Wind.

Building in a Special Flood Hazard Area

Local ordinances typically require those building within a special flood hazard area to provide three completed FEMA elevation certificates throughout the various building stages in order to validate a permit. The first documents pre-construction conditions. The next is done at the stage of foundation forming/lowest floor framing to ensure minimum required elevations will be met. The final certificate is to document code/permit conformance upon completion of construction.

Sometimes, and always when the special flood hazard area is also designated a regulatory floodway, a "no-rise" certification indicating that there will be no rise in the base flood elevation will be required.

Preferred Risk Rate for Flood Insurance

An elevation certificate is an official FEMA form for recording ground and building elevation measurements. The forms are used to comply with local building ordinances and to determine flood insurance rates for policies issued through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). An elevation certificate can also be used to support an LOMC request. Project owners can pursue map changes through FEMA's Online LOMC site.

In most cases the forms must be prepared and certified by a professional engineer or land surveyor. However, depending on insurance company requirements, certification might not be necessary for the purpose of rating an NFIP policy in a Zone AO.

Special Flood Hazard Area

What is a special flood hazard area? It is an area that has a one percent chance of being flooded in any given year as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Thought of another way, it is an area that is expected to flood at least once every one hundred years. Hence, it's sometimes referred to as the 100-year floodplain.

FEMA identifies special flood hazard areas by way of flood insurance studies usually prepared by study contractors like AECOM or cooperating technical partners like the Alameda County Flood Control District. The results are delineated on flood insurance rate maps.

These studies and maps can be viewed and downloaded at FEMA's online Map Service Center.

Base Flood Elevation and Lowest Adjacent Grade

The elevation of flooding that determines if a structure is in or out of a special flood hazard area or otherwise establishes the rate of flood insurance is the base flood elevation (BFE). It is derived from FEMA's flood insurance studies and flood insurance rate maps.

A structure shown to be in a special flood hazard area on a flood insurance rate map can potentially be removed if it can be demonstrated that the lowest adjacent grade to the structure is at or above the BFE.

Floodway - a special type of Special Flood Hazard Area

A special flood hazard area that is also designated as a regulatory floodway, as indicated by stripes on a flood insurance rate map, has special requirements for LOMC requests and new development.

Pictured below is the northeast corner of Castro Valley Boulevard and Lake Chabot Road in Castro Valley. Back when the mall was being developed, the location was included as part of a regulatory floodway. Consequently, the building needed to be elevated on piers, above the base flood elevation, so as not to impede the flow of flood water. (The floodway designation no longer applies to the property.)

Special flood hazard areas are classified and shown as zone types. Each zone has a separate set of rules for determining a base flood elevation. This value can then be used to establish:

if a structure can be removed from the special flood hazard area
code compliant elevations for new construction
a proper flood insurance rate

Special Flood Hazard Areas in Alameda County:

Zone A (unstudied flooding)
Zone AE (riverine flooding)
Zone AH (shallow ponding)
Zone AO (shallow flow)

There are over 16,000 impacted parcels in Alameda County. The accompanying table shows the number of parcels included in each zone type. Some parcels are included in more than one zone.

Floodplain Management Ordinances in the San Francisco Bay Area

Alameda County

Unincorporated Areas

• Floodplain Management• Flood Terms• Flood Resistant Construction

Contra Costa County

Unincorporated Areas
City of Antioch
City of Brentwood
City of Clayton
City of Concord
Town of Danville
City of El Cerito
City of Hercules
City of Lafayette
City of Martinez
Town of Moraga
City of Oakley
City of Orinda
City of Pinole
City of Pittsburg
City of Pleasant Hill
City of Richmond
City of San Pablo
City of San Ramon
City of Walnut Creek

San Mateo County

Unincorporated Areas
Town of Atherton
City of Belmont
City of Brisbane
City of Burlingame
Town of Colma
City of Daly City
City of East Palo Alto
City of Foster City
City of Half Moon Bay
Town of Hillsborough
City of Menlo Park
City of Millbrae
City of Pacifica
Town of Portola Valley
City of Redwood City
City of San Bruno
City of San Carlos
City of San Mateo
City of South San Francisco
Town of Woodside

Santa Clara County

Unincorporated Areas
City of Campbell
City of Cupertino
City of Gilroy
City of Los Altos
City of Los Altos Hills
Town of Los Gatos
City of Milpitas
City of Monte Soreno
City of Morgan Hill
City of Mountain View
City of Palo Alto
City of San Jose
City of Santa Clara
City of Saratoga
City of Sunnyvale

Flood Insurance Mandate

The Federal Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 mandates that federally regulated lenders cannot make, increase, extend, or renew a loan for a structure unless it is insured against flood damage when any portion of it is located in a special flood hazard area. This Federal requirement for insurance applies to federally regulated lenders, not directly to property owners. A regulated lender simply passes this obligation onto its client. Consequently, an owner of a structure in a special flood hazard area who does not have a federally regulated loan is not required to have flood insurance.

Those who do not presently have a federally regulated loan may still want to seek a LOMC as a future desire or need for a home equity loan will likely require flood insurance. Also, a home in a special flood hazard area might be considered overpriced and, therefore, may be more difficult to sell.

Lender's Determination of Insurance Requirement

A data analytic company, such as CoreLogic, reviews flood insurance rate maps and then makes the determination for its lender clients as to whether a structure is shown in or out of a special flood hazard area. Some companies will interpret the maps more conservatively by extending the flood boundary by an extra 25-feet or so.

It is a lender's prerogative, per the mortgage agreement or deed of trust, to require flood insurance whether the property owner agrees with the determination or not.

Of course, if a structure for which a lender demands flood insurance is shown far outside of a special flood hazard area, an owner's recourse is to refinance with another lender who interprets the map more favorably. Alternatively, an Out-As-Shown LOMA can be sought directly from FEMA. It is unusual for a lender to require flood insurance when FEMA has issued a LOMA for the structure.

Alaco's Fees for Flood Hazard Services

Alaco attempts to provide its clients with only the services they truly need, for attaining the most favorable result, at the least possible cost. Hence, services are itemized as described below. To better understand how these fees are applied, view the details associated with the flood zone impacting the property: Zone A, Zone AE, Zone AH, or Zone AO. In some rare instances multiple zones impact a property and the criteria described for both zones applies.

Derivation of BFE in Zone A: $150 Surveys in Zone A require that a base flood elevation first be derived from contour maps or other means.
Derivation of BFE in Zone AE: (within Alameda County) $75 Surveys in Zone AE require that a base flood elevation first be derived from the flood insurance study profile. A derivation of a Zone AE BFE outside of Alameda County is $150.
Site Visit: (cost of staff and equipment allocation/expenses for typical travel time and distance) More than one visit may be necessary if pertinent portions of the property are inaccessible at the scheduled appointment time or to later verify a property modification. A recommended modification to property might include repairing a depression below the natural grade that would otherwise disqualify the structure for a LOMA or adding flood openings to a crawlspace or attached garage for potential flood insurance savings.
- $150/visit for properties in Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, or Union City
- $175/visit for properties in Dublin, Fremont, Oakland, and Pleasanton
Elevation Survey: $150 Measure of a structure's adjacent grade elevation and surrounding drainage paths and, if necessary, the elevation of a structure's floor(s) and mechanical equipment as well as the cumulative amount of any qualified flood openings.
Elevation Certificate: $400 Completing and emailing the client a PDF elevation certificate for one structure / one residential dwelling unit. Multiple insurable structures require multiple elevation certificates. To complete an elevation certificate requires at least one site visit and elevation survey as quoted above. For properties located within a Zone A or Zone AE, a BFE must also be derived.
LOMA: $400 Completing and electronically submitting a LOMA request for one structure to FEMA and emailing FEMA's response to the client. Unless the client has a recent elevation certificate properly completed by a qualified professional, the process of completing a LOMA will require at least one site visit and elevation survey at the additional costs quoted above. For properties located within a Zone A or Zone AE, a BFE must also be derived. For properties located within a regulatory floodway, a community official's floodway acknowledgement must also be obtained as quoted below.
Community Official Floodway Acknowledgement: $75 Coordinating with community official to acknowledge that a LOMA request is being made for a structure in a regulatory floodway and to certify that fill has not been added to the site.
Rapid Response: The fees above are those charged when work is performed on a schedule of mutual convenience. Occasionally, we are asked if it is possible to achieve results within a day or two because of a pending property sale or other urgent matter. This may be possible depending on staff availability for overtime work. If it is possible, a rapid response will be offered at twice the normal rates.

The fees listed above are valid through Dec 31, 2022 and may increase thereafter.

Obtaining Insurance

Flood insurance can be purchased either through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program or the private market. The vast majority of flood insurance policies are issued through the NFIP. However, private market policies are becoming more popular as companies identify areas where the risk determined by FEMA may be overestimated. In these areas the private market is undercutting the NFIP.

If you are informed by you lender that you must obtain flood insurance, begin investigating your options right away. If you do not obtain flood insurance in a timely manner, your lender will do so on your behalf. In doing so, the lender will not choose the most economical approach for you, but you will be obligated to pay the expense. Lenders often obtain month-to-month private policies without any surveyor obtained data, rather than annual policies that normally have a lower monthly cost. If you obtain insurance through the NFIP and then later prove it was not required by acquiring a LOMA, you will be eligible to receive a full refund for your effective policy, as long as you did not file a claim during the policy period.

National Flood Insurance Program

NFIP policies are offered and serviced by the agencies of most major insurance companies, such as AAA, Allstate, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, State Farm, The Hartford (AARP), Travelers, USAA, etcetera. Be aware, however, that not every agent affiliated with a particular company will offer NFIP insurance. So if you prefer to maintain various insurance policies under one company, it may be necessary to seek a different agent. Also, not every company offers NFIP insurance unconditionally. Some will only write policies for existing clients in good standing.

No matter which agent/company offers to provide NFIP insurance for a property, the cost should be the same for the same policy coverage. NFIP policy prices are fixed by FEMA. Consequently, there shouldn't be any benefit to shopping around for NFIP quotes, except that it is not uncommon for insurance raters to err in determining policy cost—either in favor of or to the detriment of their clients. Legitimate costs savings may be possible through insurers who provide overall discounts for bundling multiple policies.

NFIP Insurance Cost

The cost of an NFIP flood insurance policy is guided by FEMA's Flood Insurance Manual using data recorded on a current Elevation Certificate form.

Discounts are available to properties that are located in communities that participate in FEMA's Community Rating System (CRS). Communities in Alameda County that participate in the CRS program include:

Unincorporated County areas, such as San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, Ashland, Cherryland, etc. (up to 15% discount)
City of Fremont (15% discount)
City of Pleasanton (up to 10% discount)
City of San Leandro (up to 10% discount)

. . . all other communities

Private Flood Insurance

A potentially less expensive alternative to FEMA's NFIP insurance is flood insurance offered by the private sector. But before allowing any existing NFIP policy to lapse, ensure that any private insurance you do consider is acceptable to your lender.

Also, consider that any grandfathered NFIP discount currently applied to your property might be lost forever by not continuously maintaining an NFIP policy. There is no guarantee that a privately offered policy will be available for renewal in the future, especially after filing a claim.

Companies currently offering private sector flood insurance policies for properties in California include:

Natural Catastrophe Insurance Program (Poulton Associates, LLC)
Private Market Flood / The Flood Insurance Agency (Lexington Insurance / AIG)
Superior Flood Incorporated (cover holder of Lloyd's of London)
Typ/Tap (underwriter: Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Co.)