This is the type of thing I find outrageous!
The practice of high rise, beach front condos fishing, until they found an engineering company that would give them a favorable study to lobby for, in effect, low or no premium.
Quote:
NBC News:
Three engineers told owner Larry Wireman there was no way the flood map qualified for a change, not on this stretch of the Gulf of Mexico, not in a hurricane-prone community where dozens of buildings were destroyed by the most recent of many storms to blow through the area. "There's no way in hell that's going to happen," one of those engineers, Vince Lucido, said he was told by a firm specializing in coastal engineering.
But a fourth company saw it differently, persuading the Federal Emergency Management Agency to move the line on its flood maps. Turquoise Place Tower I, which had been in the highest-risk flood zone, was now in a low-risk zone, where flood insurance was optional.
|
Meet the Flood Insurance 'Robin Hood' Who Saves Condo Owners Millions - NBC News
It sure looks like their premium costs are being shifted to other groups and people.
For Average Joes, Fighting FEMA Flood Maps Isn't Easy or Cheap - NBC News
I wonder if the primary people/companies/associations involved will be charged with Fraud? I also wonder if owners, investors, or banks/lenders will end up suing the condo association.
At a minimum FEMA is swept into the spotlight and hopefully will tighten up on the process.
FBI Investigates FEMA Flood Map Changes After NBC News Report - NBC News