Linn accepts flood insurance quote

Stamy Insurance Agency beat the competition to win some of Linn County's flood insurance business.

Supervisors voted Wednesday to accept Stamy's quote of $20,503 per year to cover $4.5 million in potential flood damage at the jail and sheriff's office in downtown Cedar Rapids. Stamy's quote was a fifth of a competitor's quote.

The local insurance agency brokered the deal by working with several syndicates of investors at Lloyd's of London.

The county already pays for government flood insurance for the jail, sheriff's office, courthouse and two other buildings near the Cedar River. But the National Flood Insurance Program won't cover more than $500,000 in damage for the structure and $500,000 for the contents of a building.

To get coverage beyond those limits, the county must turn to private insurers that offer what's called excess flood insurance.