Hurricane Sandy is about to sock unwary homeowners again.
A report commissioned by the city has found that 35 percent of the 68,000 buildings required to carry flood insurance in newly expanded federal flood zones don’t have it.
The cost of that insurance could be astronomical — $5,000 to $10,000 a year. The premiums had been averaging $429 a year.
Those shopping for new insurance will have to pay the full freight immediately. Officials said the city is working with the feds to try to lower premiums, possibly through higher deductibles or credits for moving mechanical equipment such as boilers and furnaces to higher ground.
Yoav Gonen
“An awful lot of the people who are going to be required under federal law to spend $5,000 to $10,000 a year just don’t have the money,” Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show. “And it’s the old, blood-out-of-a-stone problem.”
