HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Donations in sweat equity and cash donations keep one local all-volunteer non-profit alive. So when Sweetwater Organic Community Farm in Town 'N' Country was hit with a flood insurance premium of $15K, they became highly concerned about the farm's future.
For over 30 years, the farm has given back to their community with educational opportunities for people to learn how to grow their food to provide healthy, locally grown food at a reasonable price. But, companies selling flood insurance take none of that good into their calculation when quoting premiums.
"Where's the relief gonna come from for, for insurance, especially flood insurance?" Chris Kenrick, Volunteer Director at Sweetwater Organic Community Farm, told ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska. "It's just crazy; I never thought that would be our biggest challenge with flood insurance. I called you crying three days ago because I didn't know where to where to go what to do. And I thought we were going to have to do another crowdfunding campaign to save the farm."
During the pandemic, the farm was a sanctuary for the community and represented hope during those dark days. We extensively reported how people lined up in their cars to avoid going inside a grocery store for fresh produce and how their Sunday Farmer's Market exploded in popularity, with more members of the public shopping al fresco for high-quality foods.
Related Story: Sweetwater Organic Community Farm re-opens Sunday Market
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Kenrick told Paluska the quote came after they were working to refinance the mortgage on their new cafe. Sweetwater Creek runs right through the middle of their property; the farm is on one side, the cafe on the other.
"We put a brand new metal roof on. We've got solar panels; it's a block building. We think we've done everything right," Kenrick said. "We received a quote for $15,000 for insurance for one year. And I mean, that's 15% of our budget."
"What's your reaction to see that someone was quoted at $15,000 for flood insurance, and then they were able to get something around 3,600?" Paluska asked Jake Holehouse, President of HH Insurance Group.
"You know, I hate to say it's market conditions," Holehouse said. "We have seen that in the Tampa Bay area, 80% to 85% of customers are seeing rates escalate with FEMA. At the same time, you then had hurricane Ian, do record devastation of flooding, and drive a lot of private carriers to take huge rate increases."
Holehouse said regulation across the flood insurance industry needs to be better. Some carriers are more regulated than others. Flood insurance through FEMA is capped at %18 per year, which is different for other insurers, and there is no guarantee some homeowners can get coverage.
"There are a lot of, you know, areas where, you know, private carriers are turning zip codes off their nonrenewing policies, or they're hitting drastic rate increases. And so you see that on both sides," Holehouse said. "The other challenge is that a lot of private flood insurance is written in what's called the excess and surplus lines market. What that means is it's a nonregulated rate environment. For consumer protection, it would be amazing for the state to find a way to one; work with FEMA on how you justify some of these rates. But, the second would be to drive more carriers into that admitted marketplace to where there is regulatory oversight as to rate increases that consumers are getting."
Bottom line, Holehouse said, shop your rate around and ensure you are getting the best coverage and rate because once you lock in for the year, you can't easily switch policies.
Kenrick shopped around and got a quote way lower than the premium from private flood insurance. Public insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program operated by FEMA was about $12K cheaper. The total premium for FEMA is $3,653; the private insurance is $15,400.35.
"We saved the farm in 2019. And I sort of said, you know, I want to save it once and save it forever," Kenrick said. "And, so we want to keep going, and make sure that the farm is always protected, and always here, and really expand that."
