Stewart Lender Services (SLS) produces the highest resolution flood hazard analysis in the industry quickly and accurately. SLS offers the Basic Flood Determination and a Life of Loan Determination along with Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Information to lenders, mortgage loan servicers, REALTORS®, and others. The Flood Zone Determinations are produced from SLS's digital database and an extensive library of FEMA paper maps.

For decades, the national response to flood disasters was generally limited to constructing flood-control works such as dams, levees, seawalls and the like and providing disaster relief to flood victims. This approach did not reduce losses or discourage unwise development. The public could not buy insurance against flood losses. Developers frequently overlooked methods to reduce flood damage.

Congress established the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) with the passage of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. The NFIP is administered by the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) and the Mitigation Directorate (MT) components of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), an independent Federal agency. This was broadened and modified with the passage of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and further legislative actions. Then on September 23, 1994, The National Insurance Reform Act of 1994 was signed. This Act grants authority to a lender to purchase flood insurance for a building and charge a premium to the borrower if the building is in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). The lender or servicer must first notify the borrower of the need to carry adequate flood insurance coverage. If the borrower fails to purchase the flood insurance, it may be purchased on the borrowers' behalf.

FEMA has undertaken a massive effort of flood hazard identification and mapping to produce Flood Hazard Boundary and Floodway Maps (FBFMs). One of these areas is a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) which is defined as an area of land that would be inundated by a flood having a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. This is also referred to as the base or 100-year flood. Development my take place within the SFHA, provided that development complies with local floodplain management ordinances, which must meet minimum Federal requirements. Flood insurance is required for insurable structures within the SFHA to protect Federal financial investments and assistance used for acquisition and/or construction purposes within communities participating in the NFIP.

Electronic Database

SLS's database contains the flood zone status of more than 150 million properties in the United States. Some differentiating factors include:

  • SLS imposes no minimum volume criterion for flood determinations.
  • The nationwide Automatic Hit Rate is 85%.
  • Ninety-eight percent of all loans that require research are returned within 8 business hours.
  • Each US County with population of 20,000 has been digitized onsite into our GIS database.
  • SLS's Customer Service is unparalleled by competition. SLS provides customer service from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM CST. Service includes handling direct lender and borrower questions for quick and accurate resolutions as part of our customer support. There are no additional charges for our hands-on support.
  • SLS has the ability to monitor, track, and measure customer service phone calls for each SLS service; and established escalation procedures provide quick resolution of customer and borrower issues.
  • The Dispute Resolution Team consists of tenured, knowledgeable associates trained to resolve customer disputes in timely fashion.

Life of Loan Monitoring and HMDA

Lenders are required to monitor existing loans for possible changes in flood zone status that may occur when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) re-maps or re-designates special flood hazard areas. SLS offers Life of Loan Tracking and Management to assure the careful monitoring of lender's portfolios for changes that would require flood insurance placement.

The 1975 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) mandates that lending institutions furnish to the government information that links property to a metropolitan census tract designation with the state and county numeric codes. SLS provides the HMDA data at no extra charge with each certification.

Turn Times and Service Level Agreements

Initial Determination
Turn times are from one minute to eight business hours, depending upon Subject Real Property location, after the order has been received and logged in by SLS.

Rush Orders on Request (Basic and Life of Loan Flood Determinations)
One minute to four business hours once the order has been received by SLS.