1. What is the National Flood Insurance Program?
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provides insurance and federal disaster assistance in the event of floods within the City of Alameda. The program is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Until recently, such coverage was generally unavailable from private sector insurance companies. In the absence of this program, the City's vulnerability to uninsured flood loss could be substantial and a threat to the public health, safety and welfare.
Federal flood insurance is made available as an option for Alameda residents including renters through our participation in the NFIP and our efforts to reduce flood risks to new construction in SFHAs. When the City of Alameda joined the program, the City agreed to require permits for all new development and substantial improvements to existing structures within SFHAs and ensure that construction materials and methods will minimize flood damage. As a result, building permits must contain documentation to substantiate how buildings are actually constructed.
2. Who needs flood insurance?
Floods can occur from various sources and are not covered on most homeowners insurance policies if the flood originates outside of the home.
If your property is in the floodplain, you are required to buy flood insurance if your lender is federally regulated or insured and it has become common practice for most lenders to require flood insurance. If flood insurance is not required by your lender or there is no mortgage on the property, flood insurance should still be considered for the building and contents within it.
Renters may also purchase a separate policy to insure their contents within the home or apartment. Flood insurance is also available for owners and renters located outside of the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area.
3. How does the City participate in the National Flood Insurance Program?
FEMA worked closely with the State, County, and the City to identify flood hazard areas, flooding risks and to establish minimum floodplain management standards and when the City joined the NFIP, it adopted and began to enforce these standards. The floodplain management standards are designed to prevent new developments from increasing the flood threat and to protect new and existing buildings from anticipated flood events.
4. How does the National Flood Insurance Program benefit the community?
Flood insurance is available to Alameda residents and renters through the NFIP, a protection against flood losses which is generally not available through the private marketplace. Careful management of development in the floodplains results in construction practices that can reduce public and private flood losses. A major purpose of the program is to alert property owners to the danger of flooding and to assist them in reducing potential property losses.
5. How is flood risk determined?
Flood risk is determined through the use of historical flood information, rainfall topography, wind, velocity, tidal surge, flood control measures, development (existing and planned), community maps, and other data are all elements used in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) prepared by FEMA. These factors are used to determine a predicted flood elevation also known as the Base Flood Elevation (BFE). The BFE for Alameda is approximately elevation 10 feet (North American Vertical Datum 1988 or NAVD88) throughout the City.
Properties with adjacent grades or finish floor elevations below elevation 10 feet have a much higher flood risk than properties or buildings with elevations above 10 feet.
6. How are insurance premiums determined?
The City of Alameda has no direct involvement in the administration of the NFIP and insurance premiums are determined by FEMA. Buildings which are elevated above the Base Flood Elevation will generally have a lower insurance premium than those located below the BFE.
7. How can you qualify for a discounted insurance rate?
The Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary program in the NFIP that allows City residents to qualify for discounted flood insurance through implementation of floodplain management standards that exceed NFIP minimums. The City of Alameda is currently a Class 8 community under the CRS program which provides a 10% discount in flood insurance premiums.
In addition to the community discount, a property owner of a structure within the 100-year floodplain may choose to have their house surveyed to determine if either the improvements or the adjacent grade is above the BFE. This process requires an Elevation Certificate (EC) for the existing structure to be completed by a licensed surveyor or registered civil engineer who is authorized to perform surveying.
If the Elevation Certificate verifies that the finish floor and/or adjacent grade is above the BFE the EC can be provided to your insurance agent to determine if it will lower the cost of insurance. If the EC verifies that the surrounding grades are above the BFE a property owner may apply for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) directly through FEMA to remove the structure from the flood plain. Note that lenders have the option of waiving the flood insurance requirement if a LOMA has been approved by FEMA.
All requests for a LOMA are done directly between the property owner and FEMA - the City is not involved (see the "How to Request a LOMA or LOMR-F" link at the bottom of this webpage for more information). However, the City will need a copy of your approved LOMA for our files for compliance with NFIP requirements. Please contact the Public Works Department at (510) 747 - 7930 so that we may receive a copy for our files.
8. Where can you get more information about Flood Risk?
More information regarding flood risk, insurance policies, opportunities to reduce insurance costs, and steps homeowners can take to prepare for a flood can be found at www.floodsmart.gov.