Re-posting this info after a recent conversation with an Avalon property owner. By adding 6 Smart Vents, he will save $3600 per year on flood insurance! 

Original blog post-  4/18/13

Worth searching through your shore house paperwork:

Find your flood elevation certificate (the report is supplied by a surveyor; a separate document from the plot plan). If you do not have a copy, your flood insurance agent will have a copy of the elevation certificate on file.

Near the top of the first page, look at line A-8; a).  This is the square footage of your crawl space.  In the example pictured below, it’s 589 square feet (a small cottage).

Compare this number with A-8 c).  In the example, the net area of flood openings is 168 square inches, with no engineered flood openings (vents).

If the property otherwise meets the current elevation standards, yet the venting square inches do not MATCH the crawl space square feet, the property owner will pay significantly more for flood insurance.

Solution?  Add more vents- specifically engineered vents (like the brand name Smart Vents).  The typical metal grate vent may only provide as little as 42 square inches of qualified venting; in comparison, a Smart Vent = 200 square inches.

Quick math with example:  589 minus 168 = 421 square inches of additional venting needed.  3 Smart Vents (at 200 square inches each) solve the problem.