What documents need to submit with flood insurance application?

You may not need to provide any documents to support your eligibility for flood insurance. In fact, it may be necessary to provide proof that your home is not in a flood zone. If your mortgage company informs you that flood insurance is required and you do not believe the home is located in a flood zone, you may need to provide either a LOMA, Letter of Map Amendment, or LOMR-F, Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill, map to prove that your home is not prone to occasional flooding.

If you are asked to provide any type of special documentation, these forms will suffice in most cases, and are available directly from your local courthouse or Emergency Management Agency. Do not be alarmed if it turns out that you need flood insurance even though you thought the home was high and dry because flood plains are typically arranged in independent zones ranging from areas that are frequently flooded to regions that only see flood conditions over long periods of time, such as the 100 year flood plain. If the home sits above the frequent flood zone, it may not be present on FEMA maps but still require flood insurance to satisfy the demands of your mortgage company or lender if it is still within the broader long term flood region.

Additionally, there is another type of map available, called the Flood Insurance Rate Map, or FIRM, which is used to gategorically define areas where flood insurance is required and the approximate risk level for each zone. This map is available from your state department of insurance, local insurance companies or the local branches of FEMA, and may be obtained from the local Chamber of Commerce as well.