The Jersey Shore is still recovering from the damage done by Super Storm Sandy. Two years later, thousands of New Jersey residents and business owners are still working to fix and rebuild their homes. And for many of them, simply rebuilding won’t be enough.
If you are one of the several thousand New Jersey residents living on or along the Shore, your home is likely under the auspice of new flood insurance regulations that impose significant penalties for homes built below the newly established base flood elevation levels. In fact, the flood insurance premiums on a home that sits 4 feet or more below the base flood elevation could cost home owners as much as $90,000 in penalties over the course of 10 years.
The only way around these new insurance fees is to have your home or business raised above the base flood elevation with the help of a home elevation specialist. By having your property placed at or above the base flood level, you can spare yourself the insurance penalties. Properties that undergo home elevation projects that put them three of more feet above the flood elevation level stand to save even more money. Check with your local municipality to find out the base flood elevation for your area.
While these penalties are seen by some as adding insult to injury, there is good reasoning behind these new standards. It’s all part of a hazard mitigation plan that seeks to reduce the damage done by future storm. The majority of the monetary damages cause by Hurricane Sandy stemmed from water and flooding damage. Several thousand homes along the beaches and bays were invaded by upwards of five feet of water, causing extensive damage. By encouraging home owners to set their rebuilt homes above the flood levels, the majority of these damages can be avoided.
Sandy was not the first Hurricane to wreck havoc on the Jersey Shore, and it won’t be the last. Every year, the Jersey Shore is exposed to a 1% risk of serious flooding. By imposing these penalties, insurance companies aim to encourage more property owners to undergo home elevation projects, keeping their homes above future floods and reducing the cost and scope of future recovery efforts. The long term benefits of such a program are expected to far outweigh the costs in the long run.
Whether you choose to set you home at the new flood elevation levels, or reduce your insurance costs further by raising it even higher, an experienced home elevation company can make the process quick, painless, and affordable. Penn Jersey Development Company has been actively involved in New Jersey’s storm recovery efforts and is a trusted name in home elevation with over 25 years of experience. Every home elevation job we take on is conducted with the highest level of expertise and professionalism using industry leading techniques.
Contact Penn Jersey Develpment Co. and ask about home elevation options before the next big storm leaves you wishing you had.
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