Is an Elevation Certificate good enough to remove the requirement for flood insurance?

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Question:

We told our commercial applicant that his building is in a flood zone so he needs to purchase flood insurance. He hired a registered professional engineer and brought in an elevation certificate showing the lowest floor is above the Base Flood Elevation. Can we accept it? He is threatening to take his loan elsewhere if we don’t.

Answer:

No, you may not accept the elevation certificate as evidence to remove the flood insurance requirement. He can either provide the certificate to a flood insurance agent to potentially lower the risk rating on the flood insurance policy (and premium!), or he can go through the process with FEMA to officially have the property removed from the flood zone by way of a Letter of Map Change. Until you receive that letter from FEMA, you (and any creditor for that matter) must require sufficient flood insurance.
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Learn more about Rebekah Leonard’s Flood 101 – Facts to Keep You Afloat in Deep Waters webinar.