The recent surge in natural disasters has spurred more interest from mortgage lenders.
According to an article in MarketWatch, the Federal Emergency Management Administration is re-evaluating flood maps, requiring more jumbo-mortgage holders with homes in high-hazard areas to buy flood insurance.
Flood coverage is only required for government-backed mortgages or conforming loans, but lenders tend to keep the same mandates for jumbo borrowers who live in high-hazard areas, the article explains.
Even if lenders are not insisting on excess coverage, more luxury homeowners in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area are asking for estimates and purchasing excess flood insurance this year, said Celia Santana, president and CEO at New York-based insurance broker Personal Risk Management Solutions. “There’s a lot more interest in flood than ever before, and it has not dissipated since the hurricane,” she added.