Elevation certificates and risk mitigation Homeowners may also use elevation certificates for flood insurance discounts. If the certificate proves that the property is at lower risk for flood ...

An elevation certificate might be useful in a few ways. If you do not believe your home needs flood insurance, an elevation certificate could help back up your claim.

An elevation certificate provides details about the height of a building’s lowest floor in relation to the base flood elevation (BFE), the level at which there is a 1% annual chance of flooding ...

You may also need a new elevation certificate if you allow your flood insurance policy to lapse for 90 to 180 days. At this point, you may not be eligible for a previously discounted rate.

A certificate might help you avoid excessive increases in your flood insurance premiums. 6. The National Flood Insurance Program is “under water” to the tune of about $23 billion.

Odds are, with an elevation certificate, you'll get a better rate than if you go with FEMA's default setting. FIRM this week ran a series of flood insurance premium tests using 44 Key West properties.