Hardin Countians will notice changes with flood insurance

Flood insurance is going to be slightly more expensive for almost 66% of Hardin County residents, and noticeably cheaper for those that don't see an increase.

A study from QuoteWizard, an online insurance marketplace, showed that 65.9% of policies in Hardin County will see some sort of increase. Increases will, in most cases, be small, with only 3.5% of policies increasing by $20 or more, and 0.3% of policies increasing by $60 or more.

These changes are a result of the Federal Emergency Management Agency updating the national flood insurance program with their Risk Rating 2.0, which the organization says will allow them to set rates that are fairer. Changes took effect for new policy holders in October of 2021, and April 1 for existing policy holders.

"Now, the riskiest places are going to take the brunt of flood insurance," QuoteWizard Senior Analyst Nick VinZant said. "The high house on the hill that never floods is no longer going to be paying for the beachfront mansion."

He said the variables used to determine an areas flood risk include historical flood frequency, the kind of flood that occurred, unique characteristics of the property, and the replacement cost.

In Hardin County, 34.1% of flood insurance policy holders will see a decrease, and in many cases, it's a significant one. Decreases totaling $20 or more will be found on 24.9% of Hardin Countians' policies, and 14.4% of policy holders in the county will see decreases of $60 or more.

"In the past, it really was that the lower income, less likely to flood areas were paying too much, and maybe shouldn't have even had flood insurance," VinZant said. "They were really covering for these risky properties, and that's not going to be happening anymore."

He said he feels it's a much fairer system.

"If you're in a risky area, you should have been paying a lot more, and now, you're going to," he said.

The full study can be found at https://quotewizard.com/home-insurance/average-cost-of-flood-insurance#FEMA-flood-insurance-rules.

Seth Dukes can be reached at 270-505-1413 or sdukes@thenewsenterprise.com.