For insurance & miscellaneous purposes:

  • Obtain a lower insurance rate. It’s not uncommon that your house is higher than the insurance company is giving you credit for. For example, homes are sometimes rated as being at ground level (slab-on-grade), even though they may be a couple feet higher.  An Elevation Certificate will demonstrate the actual height of the building.
  • Floodproofing projects for commercial buildings will require the elevation information contained in an elevation certificate.
  • Lending institutions usually require one before finalizing a construction loan. This is to ensure the building was properly erected above minimum flood levels.
  • If a building was built prior to 1975 (Pre-FIRM), new insurance reforms will likely require an Elevation Certificate, so the rates can be determined by exactly to what depth the building is below the flood line (BFE) for that location.