Recent changes in flood insurance that could affect some Beaufort County residents were addressed in Thursday’s flood insurance seminars at the Turnage Theater. The seminars were scheduled due to local agents hearing misinformation in the community about flood insurance.

Hosted by Bragaw and Co. Insurance and Coldwell Banker, Coastal Rivers Realty, the seminars featured Shawn Tinsley, national training coordinator for Wright Flood, the nation’s largest flood insurance provider. According to representatives from Bragaw, Tinsley has had two decades of directing clients with flood insurance.

According to Tinsley, the National Flood Insurance Reform Act, signed into law by the President in July 2012.

“The initial reason that legislation was put there was to stop the constant start and stop of reauthorization of the flood bill,” said Tinsley.

According to Tinsley, this was to help realtors because it starts, stops and slows down sales.

“What most people do not realize is that after Hurricane Sandy and several other storms, the program is actually in debt so they wanted to get some stability to the program.”

Tinsley referred to the Biggert Waters Act, which required the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to raise insurance rates for some older properties in high-risk areas to reflect true flood risk. The program also removed subsidies and in many instances these premium increases were very dramatic.

“Biggert Waters as a whole had two sections that were mostly going to affect the insured,” Tinsley said.

According to Tinsley, one of those sections got rid of subsidized rates for buildings deemed pre-formed, meaning buildings that were built before the new flood rate insurance maps were updated in any given area. The sections highlighted two specific types of flood zones — high hazard and low hazard.

“If you were high hazard, you were going to lose your subsidized rate,” Tinsley said. “We had insurers who had purchased a property or assumed a policy from another insurer who was selling their home after July 6, 2012 that, upon renewal, had to come to full-risk rates. That really stimulated a lot of conversation, nationally, saying we have got to look at this bill.”

Tinsley stated that the second section dealt with the remaining properties, mostly post-form or in low hazard zones. The section stated that if the property had a map change after July 6, 2012, the policyholder would have to come into a new zone and pay the insurance rate of that zone.

“Those two sections were going to be the ones that were most devastating to the general public,” Tinsley said.

According to Tinsley, in the midst of working out details of the program, insurers were suffering, homes were not selling, people couldn’t afford the payments and policies were dropping off.

“We were looking for a way to keep people afloat by bringing those properties to an actually based rate,” Tinsley said. “

According to Steven Wood of Bragaw and Co. Insurance, on March 21 the President signed into law the Homeowner Flood Affordability Act (HFAA). This act amends some of the provisions in Biggert-Waters. While rates will still be increasing, they will be done in a more gradual manner than originally mandated.