Flood insurance and mortgage companies

[Wildcat]

Can anyone help me out?

I'm trying to find out if a mortgage company can require flood insurance at any time after a mortgage has been given or if they can only require it at the time the mortgage is made.

Said property is not in a FEMA flood zone but I know it's a mortgage company's prerogative to require it anyway. I am wondering about *when* they can do that, whether only at the point of closing, or later on a whim, due to flooding, or a change in the FEMA zones.

Does anyone know?

[athena1277]

It’s my understanding that you must have flood insurance if you are in a noted flood zone or had previously flooded.  Otherwise it’s not necessary.  But I am not in insurance, it’s just what I learned from family in LA after Katrina.

I don’t know about after a mortgage is issued, but I will say that a large percentage of the flood victims in Michigan did not have flood insurance because it was not considered a flood zone.  They lived on a river with a man made lake created by a dam with many violations that said it was not properly sized/maintained to handle a large rain event. They are being denied insurance payments from their home being destroyed by a flood because regular insurance doesn’t cover that.  Many also had basements destroyed from water coming up from sewers that couldn’t handle the overflow of water.   Before you decline flood insurance make sure you do your homework to investigate the situation.  Those people lost their homes and, even if they could rebuild, the homes were built and valued because of a lake that is no longer there.

[Wildcat]

4 hours ago, athena1277 said:

It’s my understanding that you must have flood insurance if you are in a noted flood zone or had previously flooded.  Otherwise it’s not necessary.  But I am not in insurance, it’s just what I learned from family in LA after Katrina.

Thanks. That's our understanding, as well.

4 hours ago, Mom2mthj said:

I don’t know about after a mortgage is issued, but I will say that a large percentage of the flood victims in Michigan did not have flood insurance because it was not considered a flood zone.  They lived on a river with a man made lake created by a dam with many violations that said it was not properly sized/maintained to handle a large rain event. They are being denied insurance payments from their home being destroyed by a flood because regular insurance doesn’t cover that.  Many also had basements destroyed from water coming up from sewers that couldn’t handle the overflow of water.   Before you decline flood insurance make sure you do your homework to investigate the situation.  Those people lost their homes and, even if they could rebuild, the homes were built and valued because of a lake that is no longer there.

Yeah, we would definitely get it if we thought it was even a minor risk. I have read too many stories about folks not being required to have it and wishing they did.

Since posting my question, I did find out that a mortgage company can require you to have it at any time if the company is federally backed (which most of them are). That's good to know.