Flood Zone Determinations allow lenders to document whether a home is located within a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) as required by federal regulations. With an easy-to-read aerial map copy and the ability to integrate this process into an efficient automated workflow, you can help keep your portfolio protected from unnecessary risk.
Flood zones are ubiquitous in much of the continental United States. For lenders, it’s crucial to determine whether the collateral used to secure a mortgage loan is within a high-risk flood plain — and to document the details as a part of the underwriting process.
These critical reports help underwriters to determine if flood insurance is necessary. Failure to do so may lead to uninsured damage to the collateral, the potential for repurchase from an investor, and regulatory penalties.
While Flood Zone Determinations are intended to answer a simple question, they include a variety of important details that are sometimes misunderstood. With DataVerify's Flood Zone Determinations, you’ll receive a clear and useful report in a timely manner.
Not all Flood Zone Determinations are the same. With DataVerify, access the data you need with
a variety of secondary benefits and options.
Timely flood zone determinations for all 50 states and U.S. territories
Ordering platforms include web, loan origination systems, and custom interfaces. Reports may be delivered within the respective ordering platform, or by email.
Track the flood status of a property through the term of the loan. When a FEMA flood map is revised, DataVerify notifies you of mandatory purchase requirement status changes
Services range from life-of-loan monitoring of determinations not made by DataVerify to a complete quality audit of determinations in a lender’s portfolio
DataVerify will research, re-evaluate, and verify that an accurate determination has been made based on additional information provided by the customer
All relevant Census Tract data needed for HMDA reporting can be included on the Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form or as a standalone product
Include Flood Zone Determinations within your automated verification workflow for a more seamless underwriting experience.
The NFA Certification Program is designed to recognize companies that operate within the guidelines set forth by NFA to maintain standards of excellence, foster professionalism, and advocate quality services within the flood zone determination industry.
Start with a demo or free trial — it’s your choice. Connect with one of our Flood Zone Determination specialists today.
In support of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), FEMA has undertaken a massive effort of flood hazard identification and mapping to produce Flood Hazard Boundary Maps and Flood Insurance Rate Maps. The Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) is defined as an area of land that would be inundated by a flood having a 1% chance of occurring in any given year (previously referred to as the base flood or 100-year flood). Development may take place within the SFHA, provided that development complies with local floodplain management ordinances, which must meet the minimum Federal requirements. Structures in SFHA with mortgages from federally regulated or insured lenders require coverage by flood insurance.
The flood zone determination is provided for the benefit of the lender to ensure the collateral for a mortgage loan is not in a special flood hazard.
Flood insurance is required as designated by the 1994 National Flood Insurance Reform Act and subsequent amendments. During the life of a 30-year mortgage, the risk of a 100-year flood in a Special Flood Hazard Area is approximately 26 percent and subsequent amendments to ensure the collateral securing the mortgage loan is not in a special flood hazard.
Generally, the following information is required:
Borrower's/Owner's name
Property street, city, state, and zip code
Additional information to locate a property could include:
Parcel number
Legal description
Appraisal survey
Maps (Subdivision, Tax, Plat, Site)
Current owner (if different from borrower)
DataVerify Flood Services maps to the structure(s) on the property. If a property is located in multiple flood zones, the Flood Zone Determination will reflect the most hazardous zone that impacts the structure(s).
If a customer disagrees with the Flood Zone Determination, they may request a re-determination. The re-determination request should include one or more of the following: a legal description, appraisal, survey, certified plat drawing, subdivision map, Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or any other information that helps identify where the structure is in relationship to the SFHA.
The majority of orders are returned within seconds. For those Flood Zone Determinations that require manual mapping, most are completed within 4 hours, but some may take up to 24 hours.
Email a list of Flood Zone Determination numbers tofloodscs@dataverifyflood.com. Transfers can also be made using CBCWeb. Only Life-of-Loan service products are transferable to other lenders.
Email a list of determination numbers indicating loan payoff, to floodscs@dataverifyflood.com.
