Opinion: Sellers Should Be Required To Reveal Flood Risk For Homes - InsuranceNewsNet

Get access to exclusive stories you won’t find anywhere else. Get Access

InsuranceNewsNet

Sign in
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Home Now reading Property and Casualty News
Topics
  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property & Casualty
  • Advisor News
  • Washington Wire
  • Sponsored Content
  • INN Exclusives
  • Newswires
  • INNsider
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
Sign in or register to be an INNsider.
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • ★ Regulation News
  • Magazine
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Staff
  • Contact
  • Susbcribe

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Google+
Insider
Property and Casualty News
Property and Casualty News RSS Get our newsletter
Order Prints Share
November 12, 2019 Property and Casualty News No comments Views: 66

Opinion: Sellers Should Be Required To Reveal Flood Risk For Homes

Stuart News (FL)

Commentary

Want to buy some Florida swampland? You could, without knowing it. And nobody has to tell you.

Because our state provides no safeguards for people who may unwittingly buy homes that repeatedly flood, the cliché about Florida's classic real estate scam is truer than ever.

Now consider that of all states, low-lying Florida is at greatest risk for inland flooding and tied with Louisiana for the highest risk of coastal flooding. Also, the federal flood insurance program paid out $5 billion in claims here between 1978 and 2018. And with our strengthening storms, rising seas and elevated groundwater tables, it's only going to get worse.

Consumer protection is needed. Change is needed. When the Legislature convenes its annual session in January, someone must stand up for unsuspecting home buyers.

Florida isn't the only state where sellers can duck telling buyers about homes that repeatedly flood. But ours is the largest of the 21 states that lack such safeguards, the Natural Resources Defense Council says. The NRDC report, How States Stack Up on Flood Disclosure, gives us a big fat F for leaving consumers "greatly disadvantaged."

Texas recently became the latest to act, following the catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey. It now requires a "Seller's Disclosure Notice" that addresses a home's history of flooding, water penetration and whether it sits in a 100-year floodplain.

If Texas can do it, so can Florida. Where there's a will, there's a way to overcome the resistance of Realtors and development interests. After all, people on both sides of the aisle agree disclosure is the right thing to do.

According to a national survey by Pew Charitable Trusts, three-fourths of Americans believe sellers should be required to reveal a home's flood history. Even the insurance industry, a lobbying powerhouse in Tallahassee, supports disclosure. Given that, its lobbyists should push to make reform happen. For if any industry needs a dose of good will these days, it's insurance. The business sports a monstrous black eye from inexcusable delays in processing damage claims from desperate victims of Hurricane Michael.

In the meantime, buyers should be on guard and hire a licensed expert to search for flood clues, Guy McClurkan, chief operating officer of the Federal Association for Insurance Reform, suggests in Insurance Journal:

"Without proper disclosure, families can underestimate risk and make the potentially tragic error of underinsuring or neglecting to insure their home against flooding. So, if there's a disaster, they are often left short, looking to the government for financial assistance, which may not exist or be woefully inadequate."

The NRDC's state-by-state report notes that Florida real estate agents offer disclosure forms for sellers to give buyers, but it's strictly voluntary. The form reads: "When evaluating this property for purchase, you should consult with one or more flood insurance carriers to learn the flood risk for this property, investigate the availability of flood insurance and determine the current and future anticipated cost of flood insurance."

Great. Go hire an expert. That's no help.

It's time for the Legislature to follow the lead of Texas and its coastal neighbors – Louisiana and Mississippi – which earned A grades from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Florida lawmakers should take the simple and straightforward step of requiring sellers to disclose a home's flood history.

Refusing to act only perpetuates the nation's oldest real estate scam.

Older

Top Asian News 4:28 a.m. GMT

Newer

Chuck Oliver, A Premier Lake Mary, Florida Financial Advisor, Launches Newest Retirement Tax Savings Assessment

Advisor News

  • Vanguard: Expect 2020 U.S. Economic Growth To Tail Off
  • Rep. Waters: House Passes Financial Services Bill Banning Insider Trading
  • Citi Outlook 2020: Global Growth Can Endure Over The Coming Year
  • LPL Financial Launches No-Transaction-Fee, Exchange-Traded Fund Network
  • 16 Year-End Financial Planning Tips From The AICPA
More Advisor News

Annuity News

  • Robert Kerzner Joins PHP Agency’s Board Of Directors
  • Patriot Life Insurance Co. Boosts Life & Annuities Underwriting Capabilities
  • Commentary: Ned Ryerson Is Just As Cool As Gordon Gekko
  • Industry, Consumer Reps Take Final Whack At NAIC Annuity Sales Rule
  • MassMutual Study Finds Employers Worried About Employees’ Financial Woes
More Annuity News

Health/Employee Benefits

  • Rising Prices Drive Up Health Spending, Even As Use Remains Steady
  • US Report: Prescription Drug Prices Down Slightly Last Year
  • Milliman Analysis: Corporate Pension Funding Rises By $15B In November
  • Poll: Most In U.S. Still Favor Private Healthcare, But Numbers Falling
  • Survey: Most Consumers Satisfied With Their Health Insurance
More Health/Employee Benefits

Life Insurance

  • Pacific Life Sells Aviation Capital Group To Tokyo Century Corp.
  • Robert Kerzner Joins PHP Agency’s Board Of Directors
  • Florida Man Convicted Of Murdering Wife For Life Insurance
  • LIMRA: 3Q Life Insurance Sales Driven By 7% Bump In IUL
  • Foresters Financial Updates Underwriting To Cover Pot Smokers
More Life Insurance

Featured Offers

Text Ads

Press ReleasesAll press releases

  • Brookstone Capital Management Expands Darryl Ronconi’s Role, Naming Him President and Chief Operating Officer
  • WoodmenLife Launches Unified Selling Experience for Agents with iPipeline
  • National Western Life Selects Equisoft to Accelerate its Growth Strategy
  • Peter M. Bakker Agency awarded first Insurance Agency Apprenticeship in the State of Connecticut
  • iPipeline’s New Global Website Features Extensive SSG Digital Platform Offering
Add your Press Release >

Topics

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property and Casualty News
  • Advisor News
  • Washington Wire
  • Regulation

Top Sections

  • INN Exclusives
  • INN Insider

Our Company

  • About
  • Editorial Staff
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter!

Get breaking news, exclusive stories, and money- making insights straight into your inbox.

select Newsletter Options
Facebook Linkedin Twitter Google+
© 2019 InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • AdvisorNews

Sign in with your INNsider Account

Not registered? Become an INNsider.