What is Freeboard? - Maryland Department of Natural Resources

What is Freeboard?
Raise Your Home, Lower Your Payments
What is Freeboard?
Freeboard is elevating a building’s lowest floor
above predicted flood elevations by a small
additional height (generally 1-3 feet above
National Flood Insurance Program [NFIP]
minimum height requirements). Elevating
a home a few feet above legally mandated
heights has very little effect on its overall
look, yet it can lead to substantial reductions
in flood insurance, significantly decrease the
chances the home will be damaged by storms
and flooding, and help protect it against the
impacts of sea level rise.
What Are the Benefits of Freeboard?
Increased protection from floods and storms.
Storm waters can and do rise higher than
shown on Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs).
Freeboard helps protect buildings from storms
larger than those that FIRMs are based on, and
provides an added margin of safety to address
the flood modeling and mapping uncertainties
associated with FIRMs.
Examples of savings on NFIP1 with freeboard
Zone V 2
Without Freeboard With 2’ of Freeboard
Annual flood insurance: $7,750 Annual flood insurance: $3,440
Annual savings in Savings over
NFIP premiums 30-year mortgage
1’ freeboard $2,565 (33%) $76,950
2’ freeboard $4,310 (56%) $129,300
3’ freeboard $5,160 (67%) $154,800
Better preparation for ongoing sea level rise.
Historically, Maryland has experienced a relative
sea level rise of approximately 1 foot over the
past 100 years. In the future, however, due to the
combined forces of regional land subsidence and
global climate change, Maryland may experience
3 - 4 feet of sea level rise over the next century.
Since elevations on FIRMs do not include sea level
rise, freeboard will help keep structures above
floodwaters as storm surge elevations increase.
For this reason, the Maryland Commission on
Climate Change recommends 2 or more feet
of freeboard for structures located in tidally
influenced floodplains.
Greatly reduced flood insurance premiums.
Recognizing that freeboard reduces flood risk, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA,
which administers the NFIP) provides substantial
(sometimes more than 50 percent) reductions
in flood insurance premiums for structures that
incorporate freeboard. These savings can rapidly
accumulate, especially over the life of a normal
mortgage.
$725 (46%) $21,750
$984 (63%) $29,520
$1,074 (68%) $32,220
1 NFIP premiums based on October 2010 rates for a one-floor residential structure with no basement built after a FIRM
was issued for the community (post-FIRM rates differ from pre-FIRM rates). $500 deductible/$250,000 coverage for the
building/$100,000 for contents.
2 Zone V: This Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) designation refers to coastal areas that are subject to the highest levels of wave
energy and flooding.
3 Zone A: Also a FIRM designation, these areas are subject to flooding but with less wave energy than Zone V (i.e., wave heights
less than 3 feet).
Zone A 3
Annual savings in Savings over
NFIP premiums 30-year mortgage
Protect
buildings
and reduce
monthly
expenses
with
freeboard
Martin O’Malley, Governor
John R. Griffin, Secretary

Coastal Zone
Counties:
Anne Arundel
Baltimore
Calvert
Caroline
Charles
Cecil
Dorchester
Harford
Kent
Prince George’s
Queen Anne’s
Somerset
St. Mary’s
Talbot
Wicomico
Worcester
and
Baltimore City
Photo credits:
Jack Diamond, Chuck Prahl,
Laura Younger, Chris Paulis,
George Close and
Andy Aughenbaugh
11/2012 14-12222009-428
Printed on recycled paper
What Are the Costs of Freeboard?
The expense of incorporating freeboard into
new structures is surprisingly low, generally
adding only about 0.25 to 1.5 percent
to the total construction costs for each
foot of added height, according to a 2006
FEMA-commissioned study (Evaluation of the
National Flood Insurance Program’s Building
Standards). The minor resulting increase in
monthly mortgage payments (often less
than $20 a month) is generally more than
offset by savings on NFIP premiums. Consequently,
adding freeboard typically saves
homeowners money, sometimes over $200 a
month.
Who Can Benefit from Freeboard?
Nearly everyone building in floodplains can
better protect themselves and their property
and save on flood insurance by including
freeboard in their construction and reconstruction
projects. Benefits include:
Homeowners — Elevating your home
increases the chances that it will weather
storms safely and will decrease your
worry and protect your investment. If
you’re building a new home, or doing a
renovation, ask your builder/designer about
incorporating freeboard.
Builders/Contractors — Freeboard provides
a competitive edge over other builders,
allowing you to market the benefits of
reduced flood insurance and flood risk
to potential buyers and clients doing
renovations.
Local Governments — Encourage the use of
freeboard in appropriate private and public
construction throughout your community’s
floodplain.
Businesses — Freeboard helps to protect
your buildings, important records, and
inventory from flooding; drastically decrease
your recovery/clean-up time after storm;
and potentially save your business. The
Insurance Institute for Business and Home
Safety reports that more than 25 percent of
businesses that close due to storm damage
never reopen.
From http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/for_communities/adaptation_floodplain_ordinance.php.
Photo by USGS
Coastal Geologist Pete Slovinsky in December 2009.
For More Information . . .
• For specific information on good
construction practices (including
freeboard), see FEMA’s Home Builder’s Guide
to Coastal Construction, http://stsm.us/md1.
• For technical details on costs of using
different flood-resistant building
techniques (including freeboard), see
the American Institutes for Research’s
Evaluation of the National Flood Insurance
Program’s Building Standards at http://stsm.
us/md2.
• For general information on the National
Flood Insurance Program, see www.
FloodSmart.gov.
• For specific questions on flood insurance
rates, see a licensed insurance agent.
• Communities looking for more information
on the National Flood Insurance Program
can contact the State NFIP Coordinating
Office: 410-537-3775, mdfloodmaps@mde.
state.md.us.
• For information on how Maryland
communities can protect themselves from
storms, see the CoastSmart website at
http://dnr.maryland.gov/CoastSmart/index.
asp, or contact the Chesapeake & Coastal
Service at 410-260-8743 CoastSmart@dnr.
state.md.us.
• Businesses looking to prepare for storms
and other catastrophic events should visit
the Insurance Institute for Business and
Home Safety’s website at www.ibhs.org.
• To read Maryland’s Climate Action Plan
and learn more about how the State is
preparing for sea level rise, visit http://
www.dnr.state.md.us/climatechange/.
Financial assistance provided by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, administered by the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource
Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A publication of the Maryland Coastal Zone Management Program,
Department of Natural Resources pursuant to NOAA Award No. NAO9NOS419170. Based on a fact sheet assembled by the Massachusetts Office of
Kate Skaggs l Maryland’s Chesapeake & Coastal Service
Maryland Department of Natural Resources l Tawes State Office Building, E-2
580 Taylor Avenue l Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Phone: 410-260-8743 l Fax: 410-260-8739
Email: kskaggs@dnr.state.md.us
Visit the CoastSmart Website: www.dnr.maryland.gov/CoastSmart