About 4,000 homes on Oʻahu will soon be added to a list of those considered at high risk of flooding.
Decades-old maps that the federal government uses to determine which properties are high flood risks will be updated on June 10, expanding to include more homes near coasts and streams.
That will add 4,100 new homes to the list. But approximately 450 will move off the list, so roughly 3,700 properties will be considered at high risk of flooding.
Most flood-insured homes in Hawaiʻi have a policy with the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program. There are about 60,600 NFIP policies statewide, according to state officials, and it is the dominant flood insurance provider in Hawai’i.
The updated flood maps will require more homes to get flood insurance and will be more granular, which can determine insurance premiums.
Not all properties at risk of flooding will have to pay the same, according to Jerry Bump, chief deputy insurance commissioner with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
“Pricing will be based on specific property risk, distance to the water, elevation, replacement cost,” Bump said at a Monday informational briefing with state lawmakers. “It will be very specific to your property.”
Once the maps are updated, affected homeowners with federally backed mortgages will receive notices that they need flood insurance — and 45 days to get it.
Lawmakers want to give homeowners adequate notice so they have time to prepare financially for flood insurance costs.
“The more notice we can give people to budget for this increase in insurance costs, the better. They're gonna have 45 days to budget for this increase in cost. Shouldn't we be notifying them now to start budgeting for that and to start anticipating it?” said Rep. Scot Matayoshi, chair of the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
State officials said they’ve done some outreach, but still have to come up with a specific strategy to get the word out to homeowners whose properties will be considered high flood risks.
Annual flood insurance premiums can range from about $800-$900, and up to $8,000 for properties near coasts.
