FLOOD FACTS. Client Claims Information IN THIS ISSUE

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1 FLOOD FACTS WINTER 2014 A quarterly newsletter for agents of American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida. Client Claims Information American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida PO Box 6099 Scottsdale AZ E Via De Ventura Scottsdale, AZ Address: [email protected] Phone: Fax: Hours of operation: 24 Hours Mon-Fri 5:30am-5:00pm PST Claim status, please call: If you need help to submit a claim via AccessFlood, call the Flood Service Center at IN THIS ISSUE NFIP June 1, 2014 Program Changes: A Summary AccessFlood Training Flood Service Center Holiday Schedule Flood Service Center Contact Information: - AccessFlood - FloodPro Links to Additional Flood Information 7 NFIP s Flood Training FSC Staff Photo What would you like to see in upcoming issues of Flood Facts? your suggestions to Rebecca. [email protected]

2 NFIP June 1, 2014 Program Changes: A Summary Change to Maximum Coverage Limits In accordance with the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012(BW-12), the maximum limits of building coverage available for non-condominium residential buildings designed for use for five or more families (classified as Other Residential buildings by the NFIP) will be increased to match the limits of commercial and other non-residential properties insured under the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) General Property Form. This is an increase of available building coverage from $250,000 per building to $500,000. The maximum contents coverage for all policies covering Other Residential buildings will remain $100,000 per policy. The new coverage limits are available for new business, renewals, or change endorsements that are effective on or after June 1, At least 90 days prior to June 1, 2014, a letter will be sent to all Other Residential policyholders to inform them of the new maximum limits. A message will be included on the Renewal Notice advising affected policyholders that higher limits are available. Revised Primary Residence Definition BW-12 requires FEMA to phase out Pre-FIRM subsidized rates for non primary residences. On January 1, 2013, the NFIP began implementing this provision using an 80-percent occupancy threshold. Effective June 1, 2014, the NFIP will implement this provision by defining primary residence to be a building that will be lived in by the insured or the insured s spouse for more than 50 percent of the 365 days following the policy effective date. 2 Flood Facts

3 To be eligible for replacement cost under the SFIP, the dwelling must be the insured s principal residence (i.e., the insured must live in the dwelling for 80 percent of the 365 days preceding the loss), and the dwelling must be insured 80 percent or more of its full replacement cost or the maximum amount of insurance available under the NFIP. If the dwelling only meets the definition of a primary residence, and not the definition of principal residence in the SFIP, then any claim for building damages will be paid using Actual Cash Value. References to Principal Residence will be removed from the Flood Insurance Application, Preferred Risk Policy Application, and General Change Endorsement forms. At least 90 days prior to the policy renewal date, a notice will be sent to all Pre-FIRM subsidized residential single-family dwelling policyholders (including condominium unit owners) to inform them of the revised definition of primary residence and the acceptable documentation needed to verify eligibility for the primary residence Pre-FIRM subsidy. Acceptable documentation of primary residence status includes the following: Driver s license Automobile registration Proof of insurance for a vehicle Voter s registration Documents showing where children attend school Homestead Tax Credit Form for Primary Residence If the required documentation is not received, the policy must be renewed as a non primary residence and will receive the phased-in rate increase required by BW-12. This change is for new business and renewal Pre-FIRM subsidized residential single-family dwelling (including condominium unit) policies that are effective on or after June 1, Midterm endorsements are permitted if the policy effective date is on or after June 1, Deductible Changes The changes to the minimum deductibles are available only for new business and renewal policies that are effective on or after June 1, The revised minimum deductibles are as follows: Full-Risk Rated Policies Policies rated with full-risk rates (Post- FIRM, Pre-FIRM elevation-rated, and all X-zone rated policies) or in AR, AR dual, or A99 zones will have a minimum deductible of $1,000 for building coverage and $1,000 for contents coverage if the building coverage does not exceed $100,000. Policies rated with full-risk rates or in AR, AR dual or A99 zones will have a minimum deductible of $1,250 for building coverage and $1,250 for contents coverage if the building coverage exceeds $100,000. (continued on page 4) Winter

4 NFIP June 1, 2014 Program Changes: A Summary (cont.) Pre-FIRM Subsidized Policies Policies rated with Pre-FIRM subsidized rates will have a minimum deductible of $1,500 for building or contents coverage if the building coverage does not exceed $100,000. Policies rated with Pre-FIRM subsidized rates will have a minimum deductible of $2,000 for building or contents coverage if the building coverage exceeds $100,000. Contents-Only Policies Contents-only policies will use the same minimum deductibles that apply to building coverage that does not exceed $100,000. purchased by a tenant, regardless of occupancy, the landlord must be named on the policy. The SFIP prohibits duplicate building coverage by the same insured. If building coverage is purchased by an owner, tenants may be named as additional insured on the policy. The Application includes a disclaimer stating that building coverage benefits except for a residential condominium building are not available if other building coverage has been purchased by the applicant or any other party for the same building identified on the Application. This means that the NFIP will only pay for a building loss under one policy where the owner is named on the policy. Maximum Coverage Availability for Non- Residential and Residential Coverage and Only One Policy Per Building (Excluding Residential Condominium Buildings) Excluding residential condominium buildings, NFIP-insured buildings can have only one policy with building coverage. BW-12 clarifies that the total and aggregate liability for a nonresidential building or non-condominium building designed for 5 or more families is $500,000 per structure to be paid to the building owner. The law also reiterates that the maximum coverage available for a residential 1-4 family building or condominium unit is $250,000 per policy. For all policies with a policy expiration date on or after June 1, 2014, at least 90 days prior to the policy expiration date, a notice will be sent to the insured and agent for all policies covering residential and non-residential buildings where duplicate coverage is indicated. The NFIP Application forms included in the October 1, 2013, Flood Insurance Manual were updated to collect data specifying when a policy is held by a tenant. If building coverage is 4 Flood Facts

5 ACCESSFLOOD WEBINAR TRAINING The Flood Service Center is committed to providing the best training programs to our Agents. Please take advantage of this opportunity to sign up for one of the following AccessFlood Training Webinars. A number of changes have been made recently to the AccessFlood Online System. We realize that your time is valuable so each Webinar will last no more than 45 minutes but should save you time in the long run. For assistance or additional information please contact x350 or x610. Let us help you write more flood business! Log in 10 minutes early and/or test out the meeting link in advance to make sure it is compatible with your browser. If you are unable to get in under Internet Explorer, you may want to try Google Chrome or Firefox. AccessFlood Webinar Training Schedule PST MST CST EST February 19 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 March 19 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 April 23 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 To connect to an on-line AccessFlood Training Webinar click on the following link: Connect to a Webinar by calling one of the numbers below. Enter the meeting access code # when prompted. Toll-Free Number (in USA): Caller-Paid number: Blackberry (Toll-Free Number): x # A number in your country or in a country close to you (may be toll free): de= Log on to AccessFlood and click on the Flood Training widget for more in-depth flood training HOLIDAY SCHEDULE Flood Service Center is closed: Memorial Day...Monday, May 26 Independence Day...Friday, July 4 Labor Day...Monday, September 1 Thanksgiving... Thursday and Friday, Nov. 27 and 28 Christmas...Thursday and Friday, Dec. 25 and 26 Winter

6 ABIC Flood Service Center Contact Information... AccessFlood General mail address for New Business Applications, Rollovers, Endorsements, Cancellations and Other Correspondence American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida Flood Service Center PO Box 4337 Scottsdale AZ Overnight Mail Address American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida Flood Service Center 8655 E Via De Ventura Scottsdale AZ Hours of Operation Monday Friday: 6:00am - 4:00pm MST Phone: Fax: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Lockbox Address for Renewal Payments Only American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida PO Box Phoenix AZ ABIC Flood Service Center Contact Information... FloodPro Customer Service Representatives [email protected] Phone: Fax: Automated Status Line Phone: Status Representative Phone: Agency Services [email protected] Phone: Fax: Claims [email protected] Phone: Fax: Rollover Services [email protected] Phone: Fax: Submit-For-Rate [email protected] Phone: Fax: Marketing and Training [email protected] Phone: Fax: Website Technical Assistance Website: [email protected] Phone: Links to Additional Flood Information The official site of the American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida. The official site of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). WATERMARK is published 3 times a year by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The current issue and selected back issues of Watermark are available at this site. The NFIP Flood Insurance Manual is revised twice a year - once in May and once in October. The fully revised Manual (including the above changes) is available at this site. To access the chapters, just click on the chapter name. shtm Provides additional information about the NFIP Flood Insurance Manual and yearly revisions. shtm or Additional information on the NFIP and FEMA. 6 Flood Facts

7 The Flood Service Center Elves took time out to enjoy a White Elephant Holiday Party where the hottest item was a 3-lite chandelier! Why would ANYONE let that go? Now that the holidays have come and gone the elves are back on their phones and ready to help with all your Flood needs! Left to right 1st row: Annette Cortez, Vikki Cendroski, Michele Kirk, Shannon McKinley, Erica Campos; 2nd row: Holly Lindberg, Sandi Potenziani, Tara Horton, Cameron Perkins; 3rd row: Dawn Winter, Donna VanLeuven, Terri Cramer, Yadi Batista, Amber Smith, Tim Lane; 4th row: Lorraine Cota, Greg Clute, Sharon Scott, Rebecca Burton, Jefferson Lee, Amy Peterson, Christina Krupa, Michael Gaffney, Jason Woodbury, Marcie Demski. NFIP S FLOOD TRAINING ONLINE WEBINARS AND WORKSHOPS Webinars: NEW!! The NFIP is now offering Basic Agent training via a Webinar. This web based training does not provide CE Credits, unless specifically stated on their website below. The Webinar does provide a Certificate of Completion to all attendees for the FloodSmart cooperative programs and any WYO requesting proof of training. Workshops (classroom style): The NFIP s workshop, Basic Agent Flood Seminar, provides 3 CE Credits to all licensed agents/producers except for those agents/producers licensed in the following three States (Montana, Michigan and Massachusetts) as well as agents/producers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, on the NIFP Webinars or Workshops, please go to: training/schedule_agents.html ***American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida offers two different Flood Insurance Training Classes that are NFIP Compliant for our agents and producers: Level I - Fundamentals of Flood Insurance. This class covers all basic rules and requirements of completing a Standard Flood Insurance Application. Level II - Advanced Flood Insurance. This class would be for the more experienced agent. The class reviews the Fundamentals of Flood Insurance with emphasis on elevated buildings in Special Flood Hazard Areas, Condominiums, and coverage Limitations. For more information on the Level I and Level II classes, including CE Credits available, please visit our website at and select Education and then select your State from the drop down box. Winter