If you are currently paying for flood insurance or have recently been told you need to acquire flood insurance and you don’t think your house or business is at risk for flooding, a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) can release the requirement from your lender.
Flood maps, published by FEMA, are a good guide to flooding risk in areas that have been studied in detail. However, in many areas the flood zones were not determined by a detailed study, but instead were established without knowing the potential extents of flooding or the actual risk any given structure within the mapped zone may be truly susceptible to.
If your home or business is mapped in a flood zone erroneously, it can cost you tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Having the building on your property removed from the flood zone via a LOMA can save you thousands. The flood risk will be reclassified as minimal risk, allowing you to maintain flood insurance at a far lower rate should you choose to.
Eckman Engineering LLC has helped dozens of home and business owners obtain LOMAs for structures on their properties.
Our success rate in obtaining LOMAs is over 90%. CONTACT US TODAY to see if we can help you as well.
What is a LOMA? A LOMA is a Letter of Map Amendment. It is a document from FEMA which states that while a structure, or portion of property, is mapped within the flood zone; it is not at risk for flooding based on the elevation of the structure, or portion of the property. How will a LOMA help me? If a property is mapped in a flood zone the lender will almost always require that flood insurance be maintained on the property. In most cases the lender will remove this requirement if a LOMA is obtained for the structure on the property. It is up to the lender to determine their insurance requirements. A LOMA will reclassify the risk assessment at the structure to minimal risk, thereby greatly reducing premiums if you wish to maintain flood insurance on the property. Will my property qualify for a LOMA? FEMA uses very simple criteria when reviewing LOMA requests. If the Lowest Adjacent Grade (LAG) is above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE), the structure will be removed from the flood zone. That is to say, if the BFE of the flood zone is 419.3’ and the lowest piece of ground which touches the building is at or above that elevation a LOMA will be issued for the structure.