Realtor Seminar: The New World of Floods, Flood Insurance

By Julia Robins, Staff Writer

Many of Virginia’s coastal properties are at risk of flooding.

On May 19, realtors and interested citizens attended a Virginia Sea Grant-funded pilot seminar to address the issues of recurrent flooding and changing conditions of flood insurance in the Middle Peninsula. Aimed primarily at realtors, the seminar, “Closing the Deal: Responding to the New Realities of Flood Insurance,” provided information to help educate property seekers about flood risk.

“Floods have happened since the beginning of time, and they will continue to happen throughout time,” says Michelle Covi, VASG extension at Old Dominion University (ODU). While flooding is not new, flood conditions and regulations are changing.

At the seminar, speakers discussed such issues as how to find out if a house is in a high risk area, whether the owner of a given house is required by the federal government to get flood insurance, when a bank or mortgage company requires the purchaser to get flood insurance, and how to go about securing insurance and reducing costs.

Speakers also covered processes for securing elevation certificates, getting in touch with local Certified Flood Plane Managers, and contacting local resources to help assess and manage flood risk.

“Real estate agents are the foot soldiers in this battle,” said Michael Vernon of Flood Mitigation Hampton Roads, who spoke at the seminar.

Virginia Sea Grant, the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission, ODU, the Virginia Coastal Policy Clinic, Wetlands Watch, and Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve hosted the session at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Speakers included: