24 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2019 Rod Lasley Vice President - Products & Services Indiana Bankers Association rlasley@indianabankers.org @rodlasley Floodplain Consultants Inc. is a Preferred Service Provider of the Indiana Bankers Association. PRODUCTS & SERVICES PROFILE Accuracy and Reliability What Indiana bankers rely on Two qualities banks rely on are accuracy and reliability in all areas of the institution. Flood zone determinations are where these traits are even more crucial. How does your current flood zone determination provider handle borderline situations? If a structure is close to the 100-year floodplain, does the “system” default to the conservative answer of flood insurance being required? What if that is not the correct answer? Many companies are using fully automated systems where the potential for error is significant. Computers often accept approximate locations as real locations, thereby pushing the source material far beyond its real level of accuracy. This guesswork becomes your liability and your customer’s headache. If you have been burnt by automated inaccuracies or flood zone issues regarding your real estate transactions, Floodplain Consultants Inc. is a quality solution to consider when reviewing these services. FCI has been priding itself on accuracy and reliability since 1991. It is not trying to be a nationwide company, instead focusing on the Midwestern states, including Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. This focus enables FCI to maintain its site inspection policy, provide superior certifications and have greater familiarity with the communities it serves. FCI is currently serving over 300 lenders within the Midwest with flood zone determinations, census tracts, floodplain management and life-of-loan services. With its Midwestern focus, FCI has been a longtime Preferred Service Provider and active participant of the IBA, currently serving more than 60 Indiana banks. Unique about FCI – and setting it apart from most competition – is that if there is any kind of question regarding the location of a structure in relation to a Special Flood Hazard Area, FCI will do a site inspection with its own personnel (no sub-contracting). The company will gather all needed information to make sure the most accurate determination is provided. If there is no question about the structure or property, then the determination is completed within 24 hours and back to the lender. FCI also provides life-of-loan services as part of the determination process. This gives the lender the ease of mind to know that if a Special Flood Hazard Area changes, and it affects a property that has been reviewed, the lender will be notified so that flood insurance can be obtained. This personal service is crucial to the accuracy of the flood zone determination, and for this reliable service FCI will be slightly more expensive than the fully automated competitor. Better to have collateral properly designated, however, than be concerned with possibly having collateral destroyed, with no coverage, during the next catastrophic event.
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