Patriot Ledger Op-Ed: Flood insurance shouldn't soak homeowners
Families purchase flood insurance so they don't lose their homes in a bad storm. But now, because of changes to FEMA's flood maps and unexpected insurance rate hikes, many families fear that the price of flood insurance could be just as devastating as any storm.
Congress changed the national flood program to move toward a more market-based system that more accurately reflects the true costs and risks of flood damage. This was a well-intentioned law, but unfortunately homeowners were blindsided by significant rate increases and new flood zone maps.
When FEMA released these flood maps, they knew they were placing many homeowners into a flood zone for the first time. Yet, there was inadequate warning. Here in Massachusetts, many families are learning for the first time from news reports and letters from their mortgage companies that they must purchase flood insurance. This is not an acceptable way of informing the public that flood insurance bills are skyrocketing.
While I'm pleased that the recent Omnibus Appropriations bills included a one-year premium increase delay that will help many families, I believe we need to enact comprehensive flood insurance reform that will further delay rate increases until FEMA addresses affordability concerns. That's why I was proud to work with Senators Menendez (D-NJ), Isakson (R-GA), Landrieu (D-LA), Cochran (R-MS), and my Massachusetts delegation colleagues to help design and draft the bipartisan Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, which passed the Senate on Thursday. This important legislation will help homeowners across Massachusetts by delaying implementation of the new flood rates until the FEMA completes an affordability study and provides a plan to lessen the impact of these unacceptable rate increases. This bill also provides the government with the time it needs to make sure the new flood maps are accurate, reliable, and reflect the best available scientific data.
It's critical that these maps are accurate, but concerns are growing by the day. A recent independent review conducted by coastal scientists at the request of Congressman Bill Keating concluded that FEMA used outdated wave methodology better suited for the Pacific coast when they drafted the new flood maps for Massachusetts. These scientists believe this resulted in FEMA over-predicting the flooding that could occur from once-in-a-century storms for much of our state.
We need to make sure that hardworking families who played by the rules can afford these policies. Homeowners are facing flood insurance premium increases that can cost $500, $1,000, or much, much more per month. Most hard working families and seniors don't have that kind of extra money on hand to spend on flood insurance premiums that they never knew they needed.
Last week, I met with constituents in Marshfield who are being impacted by these rate hikes. I also stopped by T.K.O. Malley's restaurant in Scituate, and heard from employees about how the new flood insurance rates will affect their business.
One Massachusetts resident wrote to me, "I have owned my property for over 33 years. Twelve years ago I built a house according to the codes at the time. Recently the flood maps were redrawn putting my home in a new flood zone and out of compliance. The implementation of the Biggert-Waters Act is going to raise our flood insurance to $10,000 or more per year. I followed the rules, and now the rules are changing leaving me few options to comply." This isn't right.
The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act will provide relief to homeowners who built to code and were later remapped into a higher risk area. The legislation will delay rate increases until FEMA completes the affordability study mandated by the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act and until subsequent affordability guidelines are put in place.
I also received a letter from a constituent who lives in Brockton. She was informed that if she wanted to appeal the new maps, she would have to pay more than $1,000 for an engineer to come and conduct an elevation study of a nearby brook. She has to spend this money even though the City of Brockton and the Army Corps of Engineers have no record of the brook ever overflowing. And if her appeal is successful, she's still out a thousand dollars due to FEMA's mistake.
FEMA has a lot of work to do, and in the meantime, families shouldn't be hit with high costs when they challenge the flood maps and win their appeals.
Hard working people shouldn't be paying for FEMA's mistakes. That's why I urged my colleagues to include a provision in the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act that will help address this injustice and will allow FEMA to utilize the National Flood Insurance Fund to reimburse people who successfully appeal a map determination. It also gives FEMA the added financial incentive to get the maps right the first time.
This is an issue of basic fairness, and I'm glad to join colleagues on both sides of the aisle in support of this legislation. Now that the Senate has passed this commonsense delay, I urge the House of Representatives to move swiftly to pass this bipartisan legislation, which will ensure that hardworking Massachusetts families are not slammed by unexpected and unaffordable rate hikes.
Read the op-ed on the Patriot Ledger website here.
By: Senator Elizabeth Warren
Source: Patriot Ledger
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