My home is elevated much higher than the street, and even in the heaviest
rainy seasons I've never seen anything close to flooding in my neighborhood,
so how can I be in a flood zone?
Although every effort is taken to ensure the information on the Flood
Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is as accurate as possible, it may be that your
structure was inadvertently included in the Special Flood Hazard Area
(SFHA). If your house is located on property that has a lowest adjacent
grade (lowest ground touching the structure) elevation at or above the base
(1-percent-annual-chance) flood elevation (BFE), you may wish to request a
Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) in accordance with Part 70 of the National
Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulations. If your house was raised by fill
at or above the BFE, you could request a Letter of Map Revision Based on
Fill (LOMR-F) in accordance with Section 65.5 of the NFIP regulations. If
FEMA issues a LOMA or LOMR-F and removes the SFHA designation from your
house, the Federal flood insurance purchase requirement will no longer
apply. You may then be eligible for a refund of the flood insurance premium
paid on the current policy year. However, lenders retain the prerogative to
require flood insurance for all properties as part of their regular lending
practice, so you may want to check with your lender before requesting a LOMA
or LOMR-F.