New campaign starts to halt insurance hike

Fresh from a frustrating defeat on the Senate floor of an attempt to aid homeowners facing exponential premium hikes, Louisiana lawmakers have launched a new offensive aimed at the same target.

On the House side, two local representatives have also taken up the flood insurance cause, introducing legislation aimed as well at keeping premiums from skyrocketing.

Local advocates for affordable flood insurance, who have been campaigning for change, said they welcome the attempt.

U.S. Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and David Vitter, R-La., are co-sponsors of a new bill that would undo provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act. The Act reauthorized the National Flood Insurance Program, which had allowed universal access to protection across the country for home and business owners. But it also required that the program be tied to actuarial tables more in line with how the insurance industry generally sets its rates. That has raised the specter of premium increases in the thousands of dollars, beyond the reach of most homeowners.

Dubbed the Strengthen, Modernize and Reform The National Flood Insurance Program Act, the bill would “delay premium increases, repeal provisions preventing new owners of sold homes to continue subsidized rates and allow the rebuilding of key community facilities destroyed in a disaster,” according to a statement issued last week by Landrieu.

“Flood insurance must be affordable, accessible and self-sustainable. Biggert-Waters only addressed self-sustainability at the cost of homeowners in Louisiana and across the country living around water,” Landrieu said, adding that the new legislation “is a better way to achieve all three of these goals and will allow families and businesses to continue working and living securely around water. Flood insurance is not just about business and commerce. It is about culture; it is about a way of life; it is about preserving coastal communities; and it is about being resilient in storms.”

Pending rate increases were a direct result of the flood insurance reauthorization that Congress passed last summer. At the time Landrieu and Vitter expressed concerns about the affordability of flood insurance for Louisiana’s middle-class families.

No amendments to Biggert-Waters were allowed, including one authored by Landrieu that would have created a pilot program to provide means-tested assistance to working and middle class individuals to help purchase flood insurance.

Shortly after Biggert-Waters was signed into law, Landrieu and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., sent a letter to FEMA regarding their concerns, writing: “It is troubling that many families who continue to suffer from flooding of their homes will now be forced to pay more for flood insurance even though many of them may not be able to afford to do so. Therefore, we respectfully request that you establish a plan to help residents cope with increased costs as a result of the law.”

In the House, U.S. Reps. Cedric Richmond, D-La., Steve Scalise, R-La., and other Louisiana delegation members introduced a bill postponing the enactment of the Biggert-Waters Act for three to five years.

“Since FEMA clearly is not ready to enact Biggert-Waters in a way that is fair and affordable for Southeast Louisiana families, I’m proud to help lead the charge to delay the implementation of this Act as we work to fix these flawed changes to ensure the affordability and solvency of the flood insurance program for current and future generations,” Scalise said. “Louisiana families deserve a clear and full understanding of the upcoming NFIP changes and FEMA’s inability to provide this information has jeopardized the viability of the entire program.”

“A consistent, affordable flood insurance program is critical to the U.S. economy, especially for areas recovering from recent flooding,” Richmond said. “The Flood Insurance Implementation Reform Act delays certain provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 to make sure flood insurance rates don’t burden homeowners and home sales can move forward. The bill also makes sure FEMA is working with local communities to draft the most accurate flood maps possible – a fix that is sorely needed for many Louisiana communities. I am extremely proud to work with Rep. Waters on such important legislation that will help so many homeowners across the country.”

Last month, Scalise and Richmond sent a letter to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate asking that FEMA take into consideration non-federal flood protection systems when determining flood risk. In light of the letter, FEMA has indicated a willingness to do just that and incorporate non-federal flood protection systems into their analysis when issuing new flood maps.

Vitter said finding a solution is, for him, a major priority.

“I’ve been actively talking with folks across Louisiana and one thing is clear – folks are outraged by the magnitude of the potential rate increases,” he said. “One of my top focuses in the Senate right now is working for a solution. We must make sure that people who have been following the rules aren’t priced out of their homes because their flood insurance rates increase so dramatically,”

Michael Hecht, director of GNO Inc., an economic development consortium comprising 10 south Louisiana parishes, said the bill – along with other efforts to offset the consequences of Biggert-Waters, should be of concern to a lot more people than those living in the region.

“This is not just about Louisiana, this is about America,” Hecht said. “It accomplishes two key objectives, the reinstatement of grandfathering, which is the biggest single statutory issue, and the second is insertion of a clause that makes sure we can understand the actual affordability of these changes on ordinary Americans. We are solving this for people across the whole country. People from all 50 states will be impacted by these changes.”

Hecht said he expects new FEMA elevation maps, upon which flood insurance premiums are to be decided, to be complete in just a few weeks.

Some parishes, Terrebonne and Lafourche included, have been working with FEMA to have the maps reflect changes in flood potential based on new additions to the landscape like floodgates and levees.

Education efforts, Hecht said, are helping to expand knowledge of the disaster in insurance rates local homeowners will face if change is not made to the Biggert-Waters Act, which has already been signed into law. That will make potential passage of the new bill making the changes easier, Hecht said.

“Sen. Landrieu has thoroughly demonstrated leadership in trying to resolve this for Louisiana and America,” he said.