Thousands of Natomas residents are being required to purchase flood insurance because of safety concerns about the community's levees.
While the cost of that insurance is several hundred dollars for one year of coverage, failure to purchase it before Dec. 8 will cost homeowners much more.
Sacramento city and county officials are holding a community meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at Inderkum High School, 2500 New Market Drive, to answer questions about the flood insurance program. Here are frequently asked questions:
Who must buy the flood insurance?
Anyone with a federally insured or regulated loan. That's about 26,000 property owners in Natomas.
Why must Natomas residents buy the insurance?
Although Natomas has better protection than ever before, the federal government wants even stronger levees in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
How do I get the cheapest insurance?
To get the lowest available rate, purchase the flood insurance before Dec. 8.
How much will it cost?
Property owners who buy a year of flood insurance prior to Dec. 8 can get it at the Preferred Risk Policy rate of about $347. Preferred Risk Policies are about half the price of standard flood insurance policies.
What happens if I don't?
Fail to buy before Dec. 8 and your lenders may buy it to protect their investment. Lenders will charge you two or three times more.
If I buy a Preferred Risk Policy, what happens when the year is up?
After a year, the Preferred Risk Policy converts to a standard policy and premiums will go up by several hundred dollars.
Why do I have to have a more expensive standard policy after a year?
On Dec. 8, the federal government will issue new flood insurance rate maps for Natomas. The maps will change Natomas' designation from moderate risk to higher risk. If you buy flood insurance before Dec. 8, your property will not only be insured for about $347 the first year, but also will be grandfathered in for the standard policy in the coming years. Even the standard policy is better than the so-called "AE" policy you would have to buy in year two if you don't purchase before Dec. 8.
Give me the bottom line.
The remapping will require flood insurance for many homeowners until local officials are able to strengthen surrounding levees to provide 100-year flood projection, defined as the ability to withstand a flood that has a 1 percent chance of striking in any given year. Go to the same agent who writes your auto or homeowners insurance and buy flood insurance before Dec. 8.
When will the work be done to shore up these levees so I don't have to carry flood insurance if I don't want to?
The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency has begun work to bring the levees up to standards. It is expected that the levees will meet U.S. Army Corps of Engineers standards by 2012.
For more information, contact the city's flood plain hotline at (916) 808-5061. Be prepared to leave a telephone number, a parcel address and if possible a tax assessor's parcel number.
Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.
