Sandy Blow to N.J.: Costly Work or Costlier Insurance Premiums

Article

Superstorm Sandy landed one final stunning blow to New Jersey as the state adopted rebuilding guidelines that come with sticker shock.

They will force homeowners in flood zones to spend tens of thousands of dollars to raise their houses now or pay exorbitant premiums of up to $31,000 a year for flood insurance later.

Gov. Chris Christie said on Jan. 24 that he adopted flood maps issued late last year by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as New Jersey’s standard for rebuilding from the worst storm in its history. He also said there are “very few places” where New Jerseyans won’t be able to rebuild if the higher buildings standards are used.

Christie stressed that the guidelines don’t force anyone to raise their homes. But he laid out a stark choice: do the elevations called for under the FEMA maps or pay through the nose for flood insurance each year. “If you choose not to, you’ll have substantially higher flood insurance costs, which could be… seven or eight times what you pay now,” he said. The new rules took effect immediately.

Government grants of up to $30,000 are available to help offset the cost of elevating homes. The advisory maps issued by FEMA in December show the flooding risk is much greater than was projected when the current maps came out in the 1980s.

They also expand the area where forceful waves are considered a risk. Homes that used to be in a less-dangerous zone and are now in the velocity zone considered susceptible to the force of pounding waves may have to pay $31,000 annually in flood insurance costs, the governor said.

But if those same homeowners rebuilt to the higher recommended elevations, their insurance premiums would be about $7,000, and if they chose to go 2 feet higher than the new standard, which varies by location, they would pay about $3,500 a year, Christie said.