Flood insurance costs to increase for 74% of North Carolina starting Friday

PENDER COUNTY (WWAY) — North Carolina residents are preparing for skyrocketing flood insurance costs, as FEMA rolls out its “Risk Rating 2.0”.

The National Flood Insurance Program is updating its new pricing methods starting this Friday, April 1st.

During Hurricane Florence in 2018, David Bollinger said the water rose 13 feet at his home along the Northeast Cape Fear River, easily surpassing the 10-foot stilts his house sits on, and rise three feet inside.

Luckily, Bollinger had flood insurance. His family recovered, but those without insurance had to make some difficult decisions.

“Well they left. Some people literally just walked away from their homes,” Bollinger remembered.

But now, due to a new National Flood Insurance Program rating system, 74 percent of North Carolina policy holders could see a price increase in their flood insurance starting this Friday.

“Before, everybody kind of covered the risk for everybody. That’s not going to be the case anymore,” said Quote Wizard Senior Research Analyst, Nick VinZant. “Now the riskiest properties are going to have to foot the bill themselves. The high house on the hill that never floods is no longer paying for the beachfront mansion. And the beachfront mansion is going to have to pay a lot more.”

In some cases, increases could be up to $100 a month, though most people should see only a $10 a month increase. But for residents of the Whitestocking community, like Margaret Wilson, it could be financially disastrous. Both Hurricanes Floyd and Florence caused major damage to homes and a church in the area.

“I’m retired. I have got a second job. Most people in this community, this is a retired community,” said Wilson. “So you basically have things in place for how you budget your money to make ends meet. So why would our insurance go up?”

Depending on the property’s new risk, insurance could go up as much as 18 percent every year, meaning Risk Rating 2.0 could play a much bigger role in people’s finances going forward.

“I think what we see moving forward is that when people are looking at buying a home or buying property… you’re going to have to consider flood insurance and the cost of it as to if you can afford to live there or not.”

Though most people will see an increase, 26 percent of North Carolina policy holders could see a major decrease. To find out whether your insurance will increase, click this link.