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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING <br /> LETTERS OF MAP AMENDMENT <br /> For Letters of Map Amendment (LOMAs), the Federal Emergency Management Agency <br /> (FEMA) bases its determination on the flood hazard information available at the tune of <br /> the determination. Requestors should be aware that flood conditions may change or new <br /> information may be generated that would supersede FEMA's determination. In such cases, <br /> the community will be informed by letter. <br /> Requestors also should be aware that removal of a property (parcel of land or structure) <br /> from the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) means FEMA has determined that the <br /> property is not subject to inundation by the flood having a 1-percent chance of being <br /> equaled or exceeded in any given year (base flood). This does not mean the property is <br /> not subject to other flood hazards. The property could be inundated by a flood with a <br /> magnitude greater than the base flood or by localized flooding not shown on the effective <br /> National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) map. <br /> The effect of a LOMA is that it removes the Federal requirement for the lender to require <br /> flood insurance coverage for the property. The LOMA is not a waiver of the condition that <br /> the property owner maintain flood insurance coverage for the property. Only the lender can <br /> waive the flood insurance purchase requirement because the lender imposed the <br /> requirement. The property owner must request and receive a written waiver from the lender <br /> before canceling the policy. The lender may determine, on its own as a business decision, that <br /> it wishes to continue the flood insurance requirement to protect its financial risk on the <br /> loan. If the lender decides to release the property owner from the flood insurance <br /> requirement, and the property owner decides to cancel the policy and seek a refund, the <br /> NFIP will refund the premium paid for the current policy year, provided that no claim is <br /> pending or has been paid on the policy during the current policy year. The property owner <br /> must provide the written waiver to the property insurance agent or company that is servicing <br /> his or her policy. The agent or company will then process the refund request. <br /> The LOMA provides FEMA's comment on the mandatory flood insurance requirements of <br /> the NFIP as they apply to a particular property. A LOMA is not a building permit, nor <br /> should it be construed as such. Any development, new construction, or substantial <br /> improvement of a property impacted by a LOMA must comply with all applicable <br /> State/Commonwealth, local, and other Federal criteria. <br /> Even though the property is not located in an SFHA, as mentioned in the LOMA, it could <br /> be flooded by a flooding event with a greater magnitude than the base flood. In fact, more <br /> than 25 percent of all losses in the NFIP occur to property located outside the SFHA in <br /> Zones B, C, X (shaded), or X (unshaded). More than one-fourth of all policies purchased <br /> under the NFIP protect property located in these zones. That risk is just not as great as the <br /> flood risk to property located in SFHAs. To offer flood insurance protection to owners of <br /> such property, the NFIP offers two types of flood insurance policies: the Standard Policy <br />