New Yorkers To Get Flood Notices Every Year

New York lawmakers have decided once is not enough — at least when it comes to telling homeowners that floods will not be covered by a standard homeowners policy.

Under legislation signed this week by Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Empire State homeowners will get an annually mailed reminder of this fact, as well as information on how to obtain flood coverage from the National Flood Insurance Program.

The notices will begin mailing later this year. The new law is meant to convert the previous regulation under which homeowners received the notice only once – when they bought a policy.

“An annual notice will give our members’ clients a repeated opportunity to consider the risks posed to their property by flooding,” said Martin Koles, president of the Professional Insurance Agents of New York State, which supported the bill. The single flood insurance notice customers currently get “can be overlooked easily among all the documents they get when purchasing a new policy,” Koles said.