Definitions:

FIRM (Flood Insurance Rate Map) - maps issued by Federal Emergency Management Agency that identify areas of major flooding risk for communities.

Base flood elevation - elevation of flooding expected during the storm that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year, commonly referred to as the 100-year flood.

Flood Insurance Rate Quotes and Elevation Certificate Availability

When rating flood insurance, there are several different scenarios that may arise. Sometimes, there are situations where an elevation certificate is not required or the Building and Safety Department may not have an elevation certificate available. The following is a brief description of some common situations that arise when dealing with flood insurance policies. Note that the construction date can be very important.

Pre-FIRM construction: Structures are designated pre-FIRM if they were built before 12/31/1974. This means that they need to be rated based on their designation as pre-FIRM, which is determined by construction date. Pre-FIRM structures do not require an elevation certificate for rating. However, an elevation certificate may be informative to the homeowner by giving them information regarding their flood risk. Also, it may reveal that they are well above Base Flood Elevation. If this is the case, the flood insurance policy may be rated based on the elevation certificate if it is to the owner’s advantage. In the case of a pre-FIRM structure, the Building and Safety Department will not have an elevation certificate on file unless the structure was substantially improved (improvements exceeding 50% of the value of the structure at time of improvement) after 12/31/1974.

Grandfathered construction: The City of Lincoln has numerous residential structures that were built in compliance with the FIRM in effect at time of construction, but have since been determined to be located in the 100-year flood plain due to improved and updated maps. In these cases, the structures can be rated based on the map in effect at the time of construction. Grandfathered structures do not require an elevation certificate for rating. Again, if it is to the owner’s advantage, they could obtain an elevation certificate and use that to determine their rating. The Building and Safety Department will not have an elevation certificate on file unless the structure has been substantially improved since initial construction. For more information on this topic, please see Technical Assistance Bulletin Number 1-91.

Major map updates that often generate Grandfathering situations:

March 18, 1986 - Salt Creek floodplain
June 19, 1997 - Deadman’s Run floodplain
Other mapping updates have occurred that may cause this type of situation, however, those listed above occur most frequently.

Example: a residence constructed in 1983 in what is today the Salt Creek 100-year floodplain was most likely shown in an area outside the 100-year floodplain on the FIRM in effect in 1983. When changes to the FIRM occurred in 1986, this residence was then shown in the 100-year floodplain of Salt Creek. In this case, the residence would be grandfathered, for flood insurance purposes, to the conditions in effect at the time of construction.

Post-FIRM floodplain construction: Structures built in the 100-year floodplain based on the Base Flood Elevations in effect at the time will be rated based on the elevation certificate. Building and Safety will have copies of the original elevation certificates for these structures on file.

If you have questions regarding the above information, please call Lana Tolbert at 441-6885.