Gulf Coast REALTORS® to Sponsor Flood-Insurance Conference

Property owners in Mississippi’s Gulf Coast region have suffered a number of hardships over the last 10 years, and the Gulf Coast Association of REALTORS® has been working to help them deal with issues arising from those hardships.

Beginning with the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and continuing through the BP oil spill of 2010 and its aftermath, southern Mississippi residents have continued to prepare for, and adapt to, the environmental challenges occasioned by their proximity to the Gulf of Mexico.

The GCAR, with the help of a Housing Opportunity Grant from the National Association of REALTORS®, is sponsoring a conference scheduled for the summer of 2015 that will focus on coastal property issues. According to Joe Rogers, the GCAR’s executive director, the event is intended to help REALTORS® understand myriad issues raised by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood hazard mapping program; the National Flood Insurance Program; and the state agencies charged with emergency management and environmental quality. Discussion will be focused on efforts to reduce flood insurance costs, thus making homeownership more affordable in the coastal area.

Local governmental officials, state legislators and members of the state insurance commission are expected to attend the conference.

Nationally recognized experts will also attend and address floodplain mapping and the National Flood Insurance Program. Topics for discussion may also include FEMA grants, mitigation of flood losses, understanding flood insurance policies, and the significance of elevation certificates.

According to Rogers, if the GCAR’s members are able to understand the critical issues raised by floodplain mapping and flood plain insurance in the coastal area, then they will be able to work with the public to address the high cost of flood insurance.