Bank of America review: problems with flood insurance! 56

Its not BoA's fault that you needed flood insurance. FEMA has identified areas that fall into "flood plains" that are really at any significant risk of a flood. BoA requires flood insurance if you fall into one of these plains and it is your responisbility to prove you do not.

If you were half way through your second year of insurance, you should have gotten a full refund for that years premium, but the first years premium and the cost of the surveying is not refunded.

We had the same issue when we closed on our house with Bank of America. Be glad your policy was only $600 a year, ours is currently at about $1700 a year... JUST for flood insurance. Waiting on our letter that says the requirement has been removed.

I'm having a similar problem with BoA right now!. As soon as BoA acquired my mortage from Countrywide I got a letter from them telling me they had "contracted with an independent provider to perform a flood zone determination" of my property, and this "independent provider" had determined that my property was currently located within a zone A Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), requiring flood insurance. I thought, hmmm that's weird, I'm nowhere near any water ways. So I go to the FEMA website to review the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). Sure enough, what do I find? Anyone with two brain cells to rub together can tell my property is located in a zone D, which does not have a mandatory Flood Insurance requirement. I contact my insurance agent who reviews all her maps, etc, and she tells me BoA has their head up their A$$, and to push back. I go down to the county offices and check with the county surveyor and he tells me BoA is mistaken, and to push back.

I call BoA (customer service reps, useless) to try to explain to them someone on their end gave them bad info. I''m hoping that if I can convince someone at BoA, by my research of publically available FEMA documents, that a mistake has been made they will remove the requirement from my account. The customer service rep is of no help. Like talking to a brick wall. They tell me I have to file a LOMA appeal through FEMA.

I do some more research at the FEMA website and find there are basically two avenues of appeal.

The first avenue of appeal is a Letter of Map Change (LOMC) which includes Letters of Map Amendments (LOMA) and Letters of Map Revision (LOMR). A LOMC is an appeal to FEMA that a property while located in a SFHA on a Flood Insurance Rate Map is itself on ground that is naturally above the Base Flood Elevation (LOMA) or is on fill ground that is above the Base Flood Elevation ( LOMR). This appeal requires aquiring the services of a licensed land surveyor for the application (at a cost of approximately $1500). Again, this is for property that when located on a Flood Insurance Rate Map is in a Special Flood Hazard Area.

The second avenue of appeal is a Letter of Determination Review (LODR). This is the avenue of appeal for when the lender and the borrower do not agree on the reading of the Map, my situation. BoA has been told by the "independent provider" that based on the flood map my property is in a zone A; I say the flood map says I'm in a zone D. This appeal (LODR) involves providing FEMA with the exact location of the property, and FEMA reviewing their maps to make a final determination. A couple of requirements of the LODR process is that the request must be submitted jointly by the lender and borrower, with original signatures, and the request be made within 45 days of notification by the lender.

I call customer service again and explain the situation to them again, get transferred three times, explaining the situation each time. I tell the final person I would like to initiate a LODR but I need the cooperation of BoA. She's never heard of a LODR. I quote the information to her from FEMAs Mandatory Purchase of Flood Insurance Guidelines. She still doesn't know what I'm talking about (she tell's me she is just a customer service rep). I ask her if there is someone a little more knowledgeable on the subject that I could talk to. She tells me that would be someone in the "insurance determination dept." I say great, connect me. She says "they don't take calls". Am I on candid camera?! I tell her for customer service they don't provide much service. She tells me she will open a dispute claim (I think she made that up) with the "insurance determination dept." and will get back to me after the weekend. I tell her I'll fax her all my research in the hope it doesn't disappear into the void. Then guess what she try's to do as I say good-bye, SELL ME HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE! Did I wake up in bizarro world this morning!

And meanwhile the clock ticks on the 45 days.

You are not alone, I have a similiar situation BOA, I say we all get together and file a class action lawsuit against BOA, they are ripping people off with this flood insurance requirement game.

Here's my story, I do live in a flood plain so naturally I am required to carry flood insurance. No problem right? Wrong, I have always been reminded by BOA that my flood insurance coverage has to match the same amount of coverage listed on my hazard homeowners policy. So when the housing market was booming and market values kept increasing I would have my home owners insurance adjusted according to the replacement value. Shortly after that I woul receive the letter to increase my flood insurance to match the same value. This went on approx 2-3 times during the housing boom. Now things have changed housing market as we all know is in a turmoil and market values have dropped drastically so I had my homeowners insurance coverage re-adjusted to current values and re-adjusted the flood insurance to match the hazard insurance just as BOA has always required. Then I get the another letter of Notice of Flood Insurance Requirement stating that after comparison of the amount of flood insurance on the current flood insurance policy to the most recent policy we have on file, we have determined that additional flood insurance is required. Talk about double standards. It was great for BOA all along to keep increasing the flood insurance requirement when the housing market was booming and now they don't want to come down with the market values instead they want to keep over insuring homeowners which I'm told by my insurance agent that this is totally illegal and that I am paying for something that I will never see even if we needed it heaven forbid we get flooded. We will only receive what the market value replacement cost would be.
Anyway, this frustrates me that I cannot get a straight answer from the insurance dept. All I get is and associate that has no clue and plays dumb like they have never heard of something like this happening. Meanwhile BOA has been taking approx $30.00 out of my checking account every month. I know this is not alot of money but it is the principal that bothers me most, knowing that BOA is stealing money from hardworking, law abiding taxpayers throughout this country and getting by with it.

If I don't get proper clarification from BOA, I am contacting an Attorney!

I completely want to sue them for harrassment. I prove that I have flood insurance every year and every year they misplace it, ignore it and put their lender placed policy on. I then have to fight for another few months to get it removed never really knowing if I was fully refunded.
It is a SCAM and I'm sick of it. I even have their reps tell me they see in the records that the policy is not expired but they take the expiration date off of another policy which is my own personal policy covering the contents inside of the condo and remove my flood insurance info. It is a joke and is definitely a business practice of theirs as this has happened EVERY year I've had the loan.
So here I am again having to prove I have insurance for the 5th time this year to get their policy removed. Without a doubt this is harassment and extremely BAD business.

I received the letter form my mortgage company this week informing me of inadequate coverage. Considering I have had the mortgage for 8 years am located in a flood zone and have always had flood insurance in excess of the mortgage amount I figured the letter was a mistake. My mortgage company referred me to FEMA and after talking with several people there confirmed that it was not a FEMA requirement for the additional insurance, didn't think so, FEMA actually said they get that call all the time. I then went to my insurance carrier. They had never heard of such a requirement so I started over with the mortgage company. My mortgage company apparently has the mortgage serviced by BOA and that is where the new requirement came from. I had no idea BOA had anything to do with my loan. I was able to talk to the insurance section and they said I could increase my flood insurance or decrease my homeowners insurance. As long as they match I would be ok. My mortgage company wants about $360 a year extra (I already pay &1750 a year even though the house floor is above flood level they base it on the ground under the house). Trying to figure out why BOA cares since if I get my insurance from FEMA they don't get any of it I think I stumbled on the reason. Allstate wanted about $650 extra for the additional coverage (FEMA decides on the amount). Since BOA is less I would be inclined to get it from them. They must know I don't really need it and would never collect on it or they would never offer it, certainly not at a cost less than FEMA.

My options seem to be to pay BOA for what I don't need, pay Allstate even more for what I don't need (at least BOA wouldn't get it), reduce my homeowners insurance (that makes me nervous but would save money if nothing happened, or refinance with a company that doesn't do any business with BOA (that will cost some money also). However, if BOA is using bailout money to buy up loans I would probably end up back with them again. I've heard of their credit card scams, apparently they have found a new source of revenue. I guess I need to just pay it off and hope I didn't need my savings for anything else.

We have a similar problem. We re-financed, and the paper was sold to B of A. After one year, our payment went up by $75, so we started researching it. They had started putting about $42/m in escrow for Flood Insurance. This piece of rental property HAS NEVER BEEN IN A FLOOD PLAIN. They took it off after I found out, claiming it was just a mistake, but it just didn't smell right. We got to thinking about how much interest they must collect by taking people's money and putting it in escrow. If no one notices or understands what has happened, it can go on forever. If it was legit, they would have required us to have it, and our insurance company would have had to pay it, but they simply raised the payment and started putting money in escrow. Not only do we have to pay for their 20 billion bailout, but apparently they're still scamming people and I would be happy to add our name to a class action. We all need to contact the FDIC and Ralph Nader. Maybe we need a Facebook site too! Millions of people are on Facebook for causes, and no one has to have your e-mail or personal information.

i believe BOA is ruining the economy single handedly.
i am in a food plain but dont understand why my flood ins. should exceed my loan amount. especially since i have never had a flood claim. also if i did have total destruction from flood it would be the end of civilization because we would all be under water. this country is a ###ing joke. and the banks and leading the way to self destruction. if i didnt have so much equity i would simply stop paying my loan. thanks Bush you chump.

I just recieved notice from Bank of America that I need to upgrade my flood insurance to MORE THEN DOUBLE my mortgage balance. The only answer I could get from them after spending almost 3 hours on the phone yesterday is that, that is thier policy. They have given me 4 weeks to upgrade which will cost me an extra $695.00. { I already pay $761.00 for flood insurance} Which I do not have, I am on a fixed income and have been out of worked for 2 months. I can see no logical reason for this. I will be paying flood insurance for more then replacement value on both my home and the property that it is on. Makes no sence at all.
Needless to say, I will be spending my day trying to refinace with someone else instead of job-hunting. And, I'm sure that will not be an easy task considering I am out of work.
But, I refuse to let Bank of America RIP ME OFF.

The flood ins.requirements from bank of America is a joke. It is based on a lie to the consumer that Fema makes the policy. Not true I have the part if the letter that Fema sends to the banks, all banks saying to them you should cover your loans bye charging the same as the total loss or replacement cost on the home owners policy.What it really says is, To meet compliance requirements, the amount of flood insurance must be, but not limited to the lowest of:The outstanding principal balance of the loan(s);or The maximum amount of coverage available under the NFIP for the particular type of building.or The full insurable value of the building and /or its contents, which is the same as 100-percent replacement cost value(RCV).(...) it goes on to say, To protect collateral interest, a lender should consider whether its collateral is adequately insured against flood damage.A sound flood insurance risk management approach follows the insurance industry practice of insuring buildings to full RCV. Wow! Who is Fema working for? Not the consumer.So now they want$ 250.000.00of coverage on my home that I could probably sell for$ 180, 000.00, If any one in my neighborhood could sell. Needless to say there has never been a flood ins. claim on my property ever!

I am having the exact same issues as everyone in here with Bank of America. I'm all for class action lawsuit.

I just saw flood insurance listed on our account. I called and they said it was a mistake and removed it but why was it added in the first place. Our mortgage is over a year old so why now. They also listed it with no payee information or account number so it was obvious that it was no legitimate. We don't live in a flood plan but they still "accidentally" added an $800 a year fee to our mortgage. I can't control what bank buys my mortgage so I have no option to leave BofA. What rights do we have. This is bad business but there doesn't seem to be any way to avoid it. Like another person said above, how much interest do they earn off of this? What if I had not noticed and how many other people out there have not noticed this?

I'm all for filing a class action suit against them too. I've never had so much trouble with a Mortgage Company as I have with BOA. The very month they assumed the mortgage from Countrywide, I've had trouble. I am in a flood zone, but got a survey done in 2004. It was filed with the Countrywide, no problems ever.

Now mind you, I don't get my flood insurance through BOA, maybe that is their problem, and for sure I won't now, (which they tried to do a week ago). They put lender placed flood insurance on my mortgage, saying I had not payed it, well I had two weeks earlier. So I had my insurance carrier send them a copy of my policy, then they said they never go it. I had them fax it to them again, and oh yeah, they got it, and now say I had a lapse in my policy and had to pay 647.00 because of it, and are going to tack that on to my mortgage if I don't pay it in 15 days.

I too am looking to refinance with someone else, even if it means a higher interest rate, I'm not putting up with them.

I am so glad to find out that I am not the only lucky ### to be screwed by BoA.Amazing how there executive office customer relations department is unaware of these issues. I am still fighting them. I have also contacted my congresswoman, and The Office of the Controller of the Currency. Both of these are a joke but what else can we do. The OCC phone number is1-[protected] file a complaint soon, because BoA has 30 business days to respond and another 60 days to do something. I am also looking to change mortgage companies. All for a class action lawsuit.

Our loan was first with E-Trader, then sold to Countrywide, and now to BOA. Our original loan ONLY required flood insurance for the remainder of the loan. This was not a large loan. We built a studio adjacent to our house. Now BOA is insisting that we have flood insurance for the full value of our property, twice the cost of our present flood insurance. We signed a contract. Isn't BOA required to honor the original contract? We are also appealing our flood zone status. We have lived on our property for 35 years and have never had a a flood event. We are on a fixed income and told them that we wouldn't be able to accommodate this breach of contract and their answer (after an unanswered "certified" letter and many frustrating calls) was that they would buy insurance and add it to our mortgage). Yes to a class action lawsuit.

I'm having the same problem with BOA as you all are experiencing. BOA claims that my house is located in Flood Zone AE or possibly A or V. This is a joke. According to FEMA Flood Zones AE or A are indeed Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) requiring flood insurance. Flood Zone V is for SFHAs near the coast. My house is at least 30 miles from the nearest coastline. BOA records are wrong. I have proven to them twice that according to FEMA my house is located in Flood Zone X which means NOT in a designated SFHA and therefore mandatory flood insurance is not required. But that's not good enough for them. I finally got an official letter from the town's Office of Public Works and Engineering that clearly states that my house is located in Flood Zone X and not in a SFHA zone as BOA claims. Let's see what the ###s at BOA have to say now. My advice, get an official letter from your town's office of Public Works that declares if your house is located in a SFHA zone or not.

You can contact the following web site for complains regarding the bank that is not giving you thhe proper solution: https://appsec.helpwithmybank.gov/olcc_form/.

BOA is doing this to us too - I have $60, 000 in flood insurance on a $40, 000 principal balance...7 years to go. BOA insists we need to TRIPLE our insurance to $180, 000 at an extra cost of $6 hundredsomething which they've now stolen from my escrow account. Through my insurance company, it would be another $900. I found this on the FEMA website in frequently asked questions about flood insurance, considering getting a policy:

Q Why does my mortgage lender require me to buy flood insurance?

A Under federal law, the purchase of flood insurance is mandatory for all federal or federally related financial assistance for the acquisition and/or construction of buildings in high-risk flood areas (Special Flood Hazard Areas or SFHAs).

The amount of flood insurance coverage required by the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, as amended by the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994, is the -- L E S S E R -- of the following:

1.The maximum amount of NFIP coverage available for the particular property type,
*********2.The outstanding principal balance of the loan, ********* or
3.The insurable value of the structure.

If the property is not in a high-risk area, but instead in a moderate-to-low risk area, federal law does not require flood insurance; however, it is recommended since historically about one-in-four flood claims come from these moderate-to-low risk areas. Note that if during the life of the loan the maps are revised and the property is now in the high-risk area, your lender will notify you that you must purchase flood insurance.

Sounds to me that they need to shake you down for the LEAST AMOUNT, rather than the LENDER'S CHOICE of the amount, which means i have 50% MORE insurance than i am required by FEMA to have. I'm gonna have to ask a lawyer or something to help me push back, because I'm not paying them this kind of money for another 7 years, AND i'm not paying $4000 to refinance for another 10-15 years, only to get sold back to these idiots. I just don't know what to do, and that makes me so mad I can't see straight.

I guess I am kind of in the same boat as all of you happy customers. I got my loan from countrywide and when BOA took over all the sudden they started trying to put lender place insurance on my loan. I live in a condo and I have insurance through my dues. I sent BOA proof of insurance several times, everytime it seemed to get lost. Finally, about two months ago they finally got the paperwork and I got a refund (I HAD TO DEMAND MY REFUND...THEY WOULD NOT JUST GIVE IT TO ME). But, the problems back now...I once again have sent them the paperwork. Now their story has changed though, they say I don't have enough coverage and want me to buy a $160k policy on a unit worth a 115k and my BOA loan is only 104K. That makes absolutely no sense to me. I honestly do not know what to do. I think they (when I say "they" I mean some backwards corprate leader/s, not some freindly desk person who is trying to make an honest living) are milking me or trying to steel my house and resell it. I would do class action but whats the point if it is all legal. My last resort is to pay my own taxes and send my mortgage payments, specifically "stating for mortgage interest/principle, not insurance." Then what can they do though?

Here my questions for BOA.

Why did you not properly file my paperwork and info as I repeatedly sent it to you?
Why did I have proove to you that you charged me for your placed insurance to get a refund?
Why do I need more insurance than my house is even worth?
Why do none of the other units (my neighbors) have any problems with the same exact flood insurance I have?
Why are you trying to steel my money?

BTW... I physically went into a BOA branch and spoke with a friendly desk employee about this problem. She said the problem would be investigated and fixed in about a week, and then gave me a case #. She specifically said she would be the one handling the case. I find it kind of awkward/fishy that a week and a half later I got a call from the branch manager saying my "case" had been transfered to him and he was going to be dealing with it from then on. I bet she saw how stupid it was and tried to fix it but BOA would not let her and took her off the case (thats just a theory of many going through my head). Do BOA's employees even see (who have absolutly no power) how backward they are?

I read your story about Bank of America Mortgage and their requirement for flood insurance. We had the same thing happen to us. In late October 2009 my fiancé and I received a letter from them stating that our property had been rezoned and was now in a flood zone and we were required to purchase flood insurance. Our house has never flooded so we were surprised. Also, the letter was sent so late that we did not have much time to purchase it before the date they imposed in the letter. I called them and after several hours and nine-kinds-of-hell I finally got through to a rep. They said FEMA rezoned us. When I asked for a copy of the documentation they received from FEMA to base their decision on they refused to produce it. I argued back and forth for several days having to talk to a different rep every time because their insane automated system does not allow one to talk to the same person every time. Every time I called it was a new world and a different story. We were finally forced to get our own flood insurance to avoid them purchasing one for us. They promised they would not purchase it.

Problem solved, right? WRONG. They went ahead and purchased it anyway. It took us until the first part of this year to get the idiots-at-the-wheel at Bank of America to refund everything and lower our payment back to what it was before this mess. Problem solved, right? WRONG. In May of this year we received yet another letter saying we needed $3000.00 more in flood insurance. Again the letter was sent so late we barely had time to get it increased before they would purchase it on our behalf. We went through another series of torturous phone calls to Bank of America and still more hollow promises. We got our insurance increased, faxed all documentation as instructed and they promised not to purchase it. Problem solved, right? WRONG. They went ahead and purchased it yet again. We are still fighting with them to refund it.

I just saw a report on our local news channel 2 in Tulsa, OK tonight. Apparently this is happening to a lot of people. Is there no legal recourse against this? We have no money to hire a surveyor to prove what is already obvious. Somehow it seems unfair and illegal that Bank of America or any other mortgage company can impose these requirements without providing credible evidence to support their claim. Yet, because they have money and we do not; they are allowed to screw us and we are supposed to take it. We would like to at least turn in a formal complaint to whatever board or agency governs them (assuming they have one) but have not been able to figure out who that is.

As far as I’m concerned, if I ever buy property again I will make sure that it is set up somehow that our note cannot ever be sold to Bank of America, nor will I ever willingly take out a mortgage with them or have any accounts whatsoever with them again. They are nothing but a bunch of white collar crooks

I completely agree with everyone here. Basically, how do we start a class action suit?

BAC Home Loans: They lie, when they get caught they change their story, when they get caught again, they relent. Oh yeah, AND they are using our tax money to stay in business.
A very ethical company, don't you think?

WHAT TO DO:
1. File a complaint with the Office of Comptroller of Currency (OCC, Branch of the US Treasury). You can do this online, it's free and the Feds will forward the complaint to high levels of management at BAC Home Loans .
2. Call [protected] (Office of the BAC Home Loans CEO), make sure you say you filed a complaint with the OCC and give them the complaint number. That will speed things up.

WHAT I HAVE ESTABLISHED:
FEMA is the sole authority on classifying an area as being in a flood zone (A or AE). The authoritative document is the FIRM (Flood Insurance Rate Map) published by FEMA. If your property is in an "X" zone according to this document, you DO NOT NEED FLOOD INSURANCE, period. You can download the FIRM from the FEMA web site.
A LOMA letter or LOMR request is needed ONLY IF FEMA screwed up and your house shows up in a flood zone when it's not. Your city of insurance company can tell you that for free.

CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT :
Any good lawyer out there? If you file this suit, there will be hundreds of people that BAC Home Loans has illegally harassed and they MUST keep record of the letters they have sent, otherwise they would not be able to collect from them. BAC Home Loans has been so legally sloppy in this that the class action case would be a slam dunk.

IN THE FUTURE:
Do not purchase or refinance using BAC Home Loans and tell everyone around you about this. This will hurt them where it counts.

Of course, the scoundrels disconnected the phone number as soon as it was published. Sorry guys. Meanwhile you can call they other service numbers: [protected] or [protected].
If you play nice (don't scream, just state the facts), they will connect you with the office that handles these claims. You see, there is the company that does evil things and the employees that just do their jobs (and quite well).

I built my house in 2005, I went through a local bank, Which clearly proved I wasn't in a flood zone before I could start building. MY HOUSE IS ON A FREAKING MOUNTAIN. IF I FLOOD NO ONE IS SAFE. When I did a refinance in Aug. 06 my loan eventually got in the hands of BOA. They would tell me don't worry you don't have to pay that it was a mistake. It kept showing up so then they said go to your courthouse & get me such & such papers & we will get this cleared up. I would do everything they told me & it still wouldn't take it off. They said just ignore it on your bill & pay your normal payment & we will take everything off of your credit. 3 months went by...I kept calling saying what else can I do. They would reply nothing we are going to take care of it. After 5 months somebody slipped up at customer service that used to work in the flood dept. asked me if I sent in my Fema papers.
My loan is not escrowed but Bank of STUPIDITY paid my taxes on property that I don't even have a loan on.
Like a [censored] I reimbursed them in full immediately...that was a joke, they are still trying to charge me, plus interest, plus late fees on their flood insurance. NOW THEY ARE TRYING TO FORECLOSE ON ME...I HAVE NEVER MISSED A PAYMENT. All of the crap they say is their crap that shouldn't have ever been put on me to start with.
Take in mind that I didn't do their home modification program. I have been trying all of this time to get them to straighten my credit out so I could get the hell away from these crooks.
BANK OF STUPIDITY NEEDS TO PAY!

WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
Like a few other people on this forum my loan was also through Countrywide, and got bought out by Bank of America. My problems started in 2009 and I had been fighting with Bank of America Home Loan Customer service line since then with letters and faxes that idiots on their end would receive and send back to me saying that it wasn't a LOMA.

FILING A COMPLAINT WITH THE OFFICE OF COMPTROLLER OF CURRENCY:
Anyways, I followed Big007's advice and filed a complaint with the Office of the Comptroller of Currency. A few weeks later I received a letter from the office of Bank of America Home Loans CEO giving me the same garbage that they've sent in the past. Actually here's what they sent me.

1. Letter stating why I was required flood insurance
2. FEMA Form 81-93(Flood Hazard Determination Form) prepared by LandSafe Flood Determination Inc. (under the comments section on this form LandSafe stated that my structure was in the flood zone and that it was mandatory that I purchase flood insurance)

I sent back my own FEMA Form 81-93 that my insurance agent had pulled up and was prepared by First American Flood Data Services. This version stated that my property was PARTIALLY WITHIN a Special Flood Hazard Area, but the STRUCTURE WAS NOT affected and WAS NOT in the flood plain. I sent the following by CERTIFIED MAIL, just so those jerks won't have an excuse that they didn't receive it, and I'll also have a paper trail.

1. A copy of the FEMA Map that I obtained through the city that was referenced in the Form 81-93 in section B. I googled flood zone maps and my city name and surprisingly it came up with the Department of Development Services to contact. I sent an e-mail because the phone number listed was just an automated answering machine.
2. FEMA Form 81-93(Flood Hazard Determination Form) prepared by First American Flood Data Services
3. A letter explaining why I don't need flood insurance, and a demand for a refund of the flood insurance money I've paid to date

I also called the number they listed on the letter and got some assistant's voicemail. Surprisingly I got a call the same day and was told to fax over my documents so that they can forward it to the right people. Apparently the main person is just swamped with complaints, so assistants are helping out. So now it's a waiting game. I'll post an update if I get anywhere. I have to wonder, did anyone else get a FEMA Form 81-93 prepared by LandSafe? I wonder if Bank of America is just paying these jerks so that they can claim owners need flood insurance. They obviously don't know how to read a map. I'm all for filing a class action lawsuit.

they never answer the phones they always have machines doing it and they do not have any spanish speeking employees how do they exspect to get more clients when in california most of the poeple are hispanic and spanish speeking only.

I too am caught up in the Bank of America flood insurance nonsense. One corner of our property is located in the flood zone, but according to our flood hazard determination form, our structure is not affected. In order to secure the loan a year ago, we went ahead and purchased flood insurance anyway - we carry the maximum coverage available. I just got a call from my insurance agent, and she received a letter from B of A stating that we had to move our coverage to the higher rate plan - now, if I am carrying the maximum amount of flood insurance possible, why in the world would they care how much I'm paying for it? It will cost me more than a thousand dollars to change the rate!

Are loan was purchased by BOA in 2009 from countrywide. We do live in a flood plain and have paid around $600 for our flood ins since we bought the house in 2002. After BOA took over they stated we did not have enough coverage, and are making us carry flood ins based on the restructure cost of our house. Every bank or credit union I have called states that we only need to have coverage based on our loan amount! We are now being made to pay $1400 a year! We have looked into refinancing but like most people our loan amount is now more than what the house is worth. So now we are in a place where we can not afford our house, because of Bank of America! WARNING STAY FAR FAR AWAY FROM BANK OF AMERICA!

FEMA is not the sole authority classifying an area as a flood zone. They create an engineering study map which "determines" the flood zone, according to their published guidelines. A second, low-resolution, vectored map (the Flood Insurance Rate Map) is created by FEMA based on the engineering survey. The actual determination is done by mapping companies who work for Big Mort. They take the low-resolution Rate Map and overlay it on a Google Earth image, expanding the flood zone as much as possible. These 3rd-generation maps are legally "not to be relied upon" and most even state as much in a legal line on the page. FEMA accepts these maps, even though they contradict the engineering studies, and even though there is no description of this "determination" process in FEMA's published guidelines. Why? Follow the money: 66% in this scam goes to FEMA, and THERE IS NO POLICING OF THIS. FEMA is currently being investigated for conflict of interest by the GAO and DHS. Since they don't make any money from "flood insurance", why does Big Mort perpetrate this scam? Because it gives them grounds to foreclose on your house. Full story:
http://www.csfreshink.com/group/central/forum/topics/national-news-finally-steps-to?xg_source=activity

Happy and sad at the same time to see that I am not the only person dealing with this problem! I live in a condo which is in a flood plain and I pay my association dues which pay for flood insurance on the building. I too got sent their standard "you need more insurance" form and after speaking to a plethora of people was told that I have to purchase an additional 10k worth of insurance. My agent told me that even if I purchased the policy, the claim would not be approved since the first claim would come from the association. One can't supercede the other. After telling some ididot girl in the policy department this, her response was "we are Bank of America, we can do what we want. You signed a piece of paper saying you would carry the required insurance." That there is the key word- required. I already do! I have had less than two months to get an elevation certificate (which is $250 out of my pocket, Merry Christmas to me) and get that to my agent to get me a flood policy. And the best part is that I have to buy a policy for 25k since they don't do 10k policies! Happy New Year too! Is all this legal. I am all for going in on a class action lawsuit. Will some sort of documentation from a lawyer help at all? A friend told me that once you send legal correspondence to them, you go into mediation or arbitration and they can't do anything like post policies at that time. Is that true? Any guidance would be appreciated!

I agree everything that everyone has commented on about BOA is the same crap im going thru with flood insurance requirements and try to pawn me off to FEMA and provide a stupid flood determination letter and customer has to pay out of pocket for a surveryor and they are gonna place a policy of insurance within 45 days. A normal insurance company that provides insurance will not even go into effect until 30 days so still BOA still steals your money, u have to pay out of pocket for a surveyor, prove to them when there the ones telling us we need. This is [censor].

They have done this to me also. Can barely afford to live and was paying my normal note on time. I had to scrape up thousands to get my loan current when they threatened a foreclosure. I have worked hard my whole life and paid my bills with perfect credit. They ruined my credit as I paid my note and they held it as partial payment. My note went from 1100 to 1400 with unfair insurance added and late fees and they don't apply any principal payments. Warning, stay away from this bank! I'm seeking legal assistance. Even if you get someone to fix it they will do the same next year. there making money by doing this. They wont help you its a scam. They are crooks.

I am happy to see that I am not the only person going through this

This is comical. We bail these idiots out and they find new ways to screw us every time we turn around. Next time they need help from us honest, hard working, pay our mortgage on time, over taxed "CUSTOMERS", we should do whatever it takes to make sure they go belly up. Maybe some other lending institution will aquire our loans and treat us like "CUSTOMERS". I have had the same problem as many of you with this flood insurance scam. And, like the rest of you, i'm wondering who is running this scam. The federal government, that needs all of the dollars it can steal to pay claims from idiots that build homes below sea level, or the insurance companies that receive fat commisions from selling us more coverage than we need. My advise to all is to move your mortgage, cancell your BOC credit cards, buy insurance from another carrier etc... imediately. I did, and that's all they understand. Also, pass this info on to your friends so they don't make the mistake of dealing with these clowns. Save your time with the class action. They own more politicians and appointed officials than all of us together could afford.

Looks like I'm a part of a long list of dissatisfied Bank of America customers. I also had my loan with Countrywide and therefore had no choice becoming a Bank of America customer. In June 2010 BOA placed a flood insurance policy on my townhome. The HOA provides the insurance so I had them fax the information twice since somehow it was never received the first time. In July 2010 BOA refunded the flood premium to my escrow account. In October 2010 I received a letter stating that the flood insurance coverage was insufficient and needed to equal the coverage of the hazard insurance. This seemed strange since three months prior it was fine. I called to inquire what this was about and was told that the bank needed to protect their interest in the property. The hazard insurance coverage is $195, 500, which I think is too much on a property that I'd be lucky to sell for $100, 000 in today's market but that's something that the HOA will need to address. The flood coverage provided by the HOA is $65, 500. BOA has now placed a flood policy for $130, 000 on my property. I had excess in my escrow this year because of property taxes decreasing because the value of the property decreasing. Seems strange that this lender placed policy has taken the excess from my escrow account. I have no policy paperwork to show for it or to prove that there really is a policy. I'm thinking BOA just didn't want to send me a check. I have sent messages to their customer service protesting this since my mortgage balance is $43, 000 and I believe their interest in my property is sufficiently covered with the policy provided by the HOA. They just continue telling me that I need to increase the coverage. I've called an insurance agency and was told this will require an elevation report that will cost me $75 and then they can determine what the premium would be for the additional insurance. BOA was answering my messages daily for three days but by their responses it appeared they really didn't read what I wrote. In my last message I stated they were not getting my point and that they were purchasing something for me that I don't want and that isn't necessary to protect their interest in my property. I haven't heard back from them this time. I'm open to whatever assistance I can get and am willing to be a part of a collective action. My only other alternative is to refinance where I can get some reasonable service. Does anyone know if it is a requirement for flood insurance coverage to equal the hazard insurance coverage? Also, does the insurance coverage need to be more than the principle balance of the loan?

I am having the same problems where I had a Countrywide mortgage, closed on 12/31/1999, and then when it moved over to BOA, I received a letter in 4/2010 that I was found to be in a flood zone, when all along and when we closed in 1999, we had asked about flood zone and were told we were OK. I found this strange and when I called BOA they said they had received new info from FEMA. So I called FEMA and FEMA said there was no new info sent to BOA and the map is the same as in 1982. I've had 2 separate large insurance companies, one was Allstate, tell me that their information shows a flood determination of "C" and not A-3 as LandSafe is showing. Landsafe told me that the insurance companies are wrong, but when Allstate sent me the flood determ. form it was the same kind of form that Landsafe sent me, but it had landsafe's name and address instead of CoreLogic, which was on the insurance companies flood determination form. If 2 other companies show me in zone C who says that landsafe is correct?

I would love to hear about a class action suit and love to belong to it.

My mortgage was sold to BOA and they are a nightmare. FEMA re-did the flood maps and I am now in a flood plain. BOA notified me that I had to get flood ins. I told them I was getting an elevation survey to make sure I was in the plain. They purchased insurance for me in the amount of $191, 500 at $1, 900 a year. They "took" 3 mortgage payments in a row and used the money to "buy" my flood insurance and then informed me I was past due on my mortgage. I pay my own taxes and insurance, therefore, I have never had an escrow account. They raised my mortgage payment $378 a month and billed me an additional $1600.00 to bring my account current even though I had made all the payments on time. I'm 62 years old and I have never been late with a mortgage payment in my life! I made application to refinance with another company with the provision that my loan could not be sold to BOA but was informed I couldn't refinance because I had been past due three mos. in a row on my mortgage. I filed a complaint with OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency). I am having doubts about the OCC too! I have purchased flood insurance for the coming yearly period, sent proof to BOA that they are named on policy and that it is paid in full by me. They have now also paid the premium on the policy (why I do not know) and they want their money back! What a joke. I want the $378 additional I paid every month back too since I have paid for my own policy out of my pocket but they said not until they get back their money. Oh, and they sent me a letter telling me my policy was coming due and said it had to be insured for at least $120, 453, so I purchased flood insurance in the amount of $121, 500 and now they are saying they want it insured back up to $191, 500. My State Equalized Valuation is $60, 000. Sign me up for a Class Action Suit!

I HAVE A SMALL CREEK LOCATED BEHIND MY HOUSE, BOA NOTIFIED ME THAT I NEEDED FLOOD INSURANCE, AFTER 30DAYS THEY PUT US ON A FLOOD INSURANCE. MARCH 2 OF THIS YEAR I HAD A FLOOD IN MY BEASEMENT EST. DAMAGE 4, 500.00 2500 WAS SUPPOSE TO BE PIAD TO THE RESTORATION CO. THE DID THE WORK IN THE BASEMENT AND 2000.00 FOR MY DAMAGES. THE CLAIM WAS PUT IN AND THEY HAVE STILL NOT PAID ONE RED CENT. EVERYTIME WE CALL THEY TELL US THE CHECK IS IN THE MAIL. WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT THIS PROBLEM MY BASEMENT IS A MESS.

I HATE Bank of America. Jerks basically find any way to take more money out of you. I too had a mortgage through Countrywide, which was then bought up by those losers. It took me 2 years to fight them on the flood insurance requirement, even sending them letters that FEMA sent me stating my flood zone was X not A. Even FEMA seems to have a problem with their own maps when I went to submit a form to request for an LOMA, which is the only document that BofA would bother to look at. My property wasn't in the flood zone and you could clearly see it from the color coded map. But they rejected my form stating that I didn't have a license surveyor conduct a survey of my property. Why would I pay a license surveyor the $800+ even though FEMA's map pointed out I wasn't in the flood zone!?!?! UGH! Eventually a contractor through FEMA received another request from my neighbor who also stated the same thing, but this person actually did some work and probably actually looked at the map. After 2 years I finally got my LOMA. Even after submitting the thing to BofA they told me they wouldn't refund me the flood insurance I had already paid, and that it was my responsibility to request a refund from FEMA, or whatever organization. Complete BULL! I told the rep this was terrible customer service, and I would not be rating him very well for the after call survey. Well, he transferred me to his supervisor because he didn't want to be rated terribly because of the customer service I experienced. His supervisor, who old me the same thing did nothing to in terms of helping out, and when I asked to take the survey he said he couldn't transfer me to the survey line. Again more BULL! I can't believe our stupid government went ahead and bailed these greedy corporations with our tax money, and then all these corporations do is screw us over.

One other thing to add I also filed a complaint with the OCC twice. All they did was send my complaint to some CEO at Bank of America, who sent a letter back to me with the same stupid documents their customer service sent me. They even provided a number to their office, which when I tried to call was always directed to voicemail. Like one other person mentioned, Bank of America owns more politicians than we could ever afford. It's always going to be a you scratch my back and I'll scratch your back system. I'm think our government is no better than the government of third world countries. They're all corrupt, and there's nothing the people can do.

The folks at Nichols Kaster - Attorneys at Law are involved in Class Action litigation against Bank of America. One of the cases they have filed has to do with the flood fraud everyone is talking about here. NKA were very interested in my case and had me submit all of my BOFA correspondence regarding the unsolicited gap flood insurance applied to my mortgage, along with my insurance policy, and the recently inflated replacement cost levied by Allstate. I recommend everyone contact them and have your paperwork ready to submit.

http://www.nka.com/Cases/BOAFloodIns.aspx?CaseRef=167

What does this lawsuit claim?
The lawsuit alleges that Bank of America unfairly requires its customers to purchase and maintain unnecessary and excessive flood insurance for their property, in amounts greater than necessary to secure their outstanding principal balance or credit line, without any reasonable basis or justification and without clearly, conspicuously, or adequately disclosing such requirements in the relevant loan and mortgage documents. The lawsuit further alleges that Bank of America sent form letters to borrowers misrepresenting flood insurance requirements under federal law.