What the loss from melting ice means

For the sake of argument, assume that you accept the claims that temperatures will actually start rising again. What does the melting of ice mean practically? Daily Tech has this:

the U.S. Climate Change Science Program . . . , which coordinates the efforts of 13 different federal climate agencies, has released updated figures estimating combined ice loss from Antarctica and Greenland at 48 cubic miles per year . . . .

those 48 cubic miles, when spread out over the planet's 139 million square miles of ocean, works out to a sea level rise of only 2.1 inches per century. . . .