NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee homeowners could soon pay more out of pocket for flood insurance.
FEMA recently changed the way it calculates flood risk. For some, this will mean paying less, but the vast majority of residents living in flood zones will pay more, according to LendingTree.
“We have seen a 163% increase in the last 20 years in the number of natural disasters, and a lot of those have been floods. So even if you don’t believe in climate change, that doesn’t matter, your insurance company does,” said Nick VinZant, Senior Research Analyst at QuoteWizard by LendingTree.
Although this new system will mean some will pay more, VinZant said it’s ultimately a more equitable way of determining rates.
“What FEMA is really doing is they are shifting the burden of flood insurance. Before, everybody kind of paid for everybody equally. Now people who have the riskiest properties are going to be paying the most. And if you’re not facing a lot of risk, you’ll be paying a lot less,” VinZant said.
Unfortunately, VinZant doesn’t see Tennessee flood insurance costs going down anytime soon. He added that Tennessee has