Great news! Now all you Midwesterners will be subsidizing the cost of my beautiful beachfront property! I’ll be spending the savings on a new hot tub and some high-end wines for my guests to drink while we enjoy the view! Thanks America and Cheers!
How on earth can the government justify spending potentially billions of dollars to bail out people who, virtually without exception, knew they were buying in a flood plain? The people living there and drooling over this government bailout are probably all vigorously protesting government spending to put food on poor peoples’ tables or provide decent medical care for veterans who return from senseless wars with their bodies and minds in ruins.
As a resident of a barrier island and property owner about 1/2 mile from the coast line I want to thank all you taxpayers for supporting my flood premiums. I pay $519.00 for over $300,000 of total coverage with $2,500. deductible…..thanks again.
The flood insurance program before biggart waters was broken but the government dropped the ball when FEMA was supposed to do a 4 year study to determine actuarial flood rates but did not complete this study. That forced the government to throw artificial flood rates out there and they were ridiculously high. I am an insurance agent in Florida and one of my customers went from $2,700 a year to $21,000 for the year under the biggart waters act. That is absurd. Another statistic is that Florida has paid 16 billion dollars into the National Flood Insurance Program and have only claimed 4 billion in losses. Where did that other 12 billion dollars go? Did it stay in the NFIP and get used to pay flood claims in other areas or did our government delegate that money to other failing programs such as Cash For Clunkers or Green Energy Programs. There is a happy medium for the flood insurance but if nobody does the required studies to determine what areas should pay higher flood rates, then the program will always be broken.
The other 12 billion went to agents (15-20 %) and ins companies to administer the program(35%) and claim adjusters(15%). Maybe flood should be direct purchase no need for agent.
we get 15% renewal and 18% new. Every three years we move the book for 20% and undisclosed bonus$$$. Companies love it no risk minimal underwriting easy to handle. Look at their annual reports they brag about it.
The federal levee failures during Katrina were a pivotal moment in American history. In addition to redrawing national flood maps, there were many changes in national policy including passage of a National Levee Safety Act and changes in the way the Army Corps builds levees and inspects.
Signing a bill did not offer any relief. FEMA will not do anything they said for at least a year. I’m a single mom and my insurance is up for renewal now @ $7000.00 on a $35000 loan. My house is not on a beach and has not flooded. The bank is for placing my insurance @ $350.00 for 45 days which is cheaper than FEMA. The bill was signed yes but it is a scam there is absolutely no relief :(
if you do flood, with bank placed insurance they get the check pay off the loan and you have no cash and flood damaged property. Then you you can try and get loan to repair good luck.
The seacoast is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the nation. This Flood insurance releif is using the tax money from all americans to subsidize the insurance bills of the wealthiest people in america. The rich keep on getting richer by rules and regulation set forth by both repiblicans and democrats.
We need another political party who will really represent middle america and not just say so.
Actually, that’s not the case. When the Corps’ levees broke in New Orleans in 2005, it was discovered that flood zone maps everywhere were outdated. And people in flood zones will see their insurance go up like 15-fold.
Don’t you get tired of talking about the rich people and flood insurance? It truly shows you have absolutely no grasp of this situation. Flood insurance affects everyone. Inland homes, coastal homes, homes near creeks and rivers. The majority of the issue is about homes built before there were flood maps. You are all for subsidies that would benefit you but not for others. When FEMA can provide rates that are based upon actual risk we will be moving forward. Most of the rich homeowners I see are buying or owning homes that are built up high and have proper flood venting so this doesn’t affect them in any way. It is the middle class homes for the most part that are seeing unaffordable increases. Lets also not mention the surplus that is never allowed to build up to cover these catastrophic events. If they would have allowed surplus to build up I bet there would not be a problem to even discuss. This isn’t the fault of homeowners but of our government.
Exactly. There are middle class folks who live in central parts of a coastal state who are in so-called “flood zones” and their rates took a hike. This happened to friends of mine and it really is unbelievable. This is not about paying for the flood insurance of beachfront mansions, do some research. Poke around online and you will find a majority of people do not even live NEAR a coast and faced HUGE flood premiums for an area that has never or rarely flooded (and if it did flood, was not catastrophic). The whole system is flawed. Furthermore, for areas that DO flood and it is inevitable that a flood will happen – perhaps it makes more sense to offer financial incentives to build/create/modify appropriate homes or home modifications, i.e., reduce cost to raise an existing home closer to above flood level. We should be thinking about PREVENTATIVE measures, not just measures that focus on solutions post-flood. Makes no sense to rebuild property without water level precautions.
Love the position of the critics. It’s always been about the rich. That’s right, America is paying for flood insurance on the beachfront homes of millionaires. Of course, let’s dismiss the middle class houses facing 10-fold increases in premiums, in neighborhoods that have never flooded. A $10K policy on a $150K home is “actuarially sound” for sure. I’m sure the critics are far from affected neighborhoods.
It is unfortunate that so many people are commenting on a situation that they have no knowledge of. I have a middle class family cottage approximately 3/4 mile from the beach. I have owned it for 10 years. When I purchased it, there was no flood insurance required (for good reason because it has NEVER come close to flooding since it was built in 1937). In 2012 it was remapped into a flood zone (FEMA made this determination without any professional local community input). The first year I paid $1900 for my premium and this year they want $4500. What will they want for the premium next year?
An area that never flooded in the past is now surrounded by roads (dams), shopping centers and subdivisions instead of wooded areas and natural topography.
The dynamics have changed, throw out the old benchmarks.
New maps just came out here on barrier island and we are no longer in flood zone. What most people tend to overlook is the fact that the MAXIMUM insurance you can buy is $250,000. How much should insurance cost to cover a risk of that amount? The new rates are based upon how many feet a property is above or below the Base Flood Elevation (BFE). It is interesting to note that FEMA will disqualify a US home from being out of a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) over 1/10 of a foot or 1.2 inches while in the US possession of Puerto Rico, it would be 1/10 of a meter or 3.9 inches! The process that FEMA has detailed to get re-designated is anything but easy (as they will tell you it is). This is not about rich or poor, it is about fair and realistic rates. If I am not mistaken, every American who pays taxes have helped those with mudslides, earthquakes and other “Acts of God”, so get of the soap box.
I have lived in my property for over 22 years. Never flooded. Had insurance to cover the mortgage. NOW however that’s not good enough I have to cover enough to cover the ENTIRE PROPERTY VALUE? What I am really doing is subsidizing the governments bad decisions in insuring people who have and will flood again. My flood insurance tripled in one year. This in essence is a new hidden tax the government has levied on those of us who haven’t and won’t flood.
I was just notified that my flood insurance rates are going up 25% max every year and they’ve added a $250 surcharge! My rate went up last year $300. WTF! I can’t afford this crap with sky-rocketing health insurance copayments.
If everyone of the 1,000,000 policy holders effected by the rate hike would stop paying, the system would collapse, and it would not take lawmakers but one day to fix it. Money talks, and the BS walks.
I live on a lake in Alabama. The property was built above the flood plain but the government came up with a way to gain more money for FEMA by moving the flood line back five feet which now encompasses over 95% of the homes around the lake. Now we are all required to pay for flood insurance. This property has been on this lake for twenty-seven years and never flooded because the Army Corp of Engineers put the flood plain line so that water would run over the downstream down before it would get above the flood line. So now we are paying for insurance because some politicians not engineers decided to move the flood line back five feet!
We live in a three bedroom ranch in Ohio. We purchased our house in 2003 and it was not considered in a “flood zone” (there wasn’t any information on our contract about a possible flood zone) until Hurricane Katrina totaled the south and the government didn’t have funds to bail out! So, we started having to pay flood insurance a couple years after the hurricane. Obama passes this STUPID bill and now we’re paying $200 a month in flood insurance! We received a statement from FEMA telling us that our flood insurance will go up by 18% ($400 + a MONTH)or more within the next 5-10 years! We won’t be able to sell the house because who on earth would pay that much in flood insurance?? Eventually, we won’t be able to afford living here! Thanks a lot Congressmen, Senators and Obama!!!!
Tammy, the bank makes you buy flood insurance, because we tax payers guarantee your loan to the bank and want to be protected. And the flood program was broke before Katrina. as for the rates, insurance is just a transfer of money in money out with the servicing companies and adjusters taking 40% of the premiums for no risk.
Great news! Now all you Midwesterners will be subsidizing the cost of my beautiful beachfront property! I’ll be spending the savings on a new hot tub and some high-end wines for my guests to drink while we enjoy the view! Thanks America and Cheers!
How on earth can the government justify spending potentially billions of dollars to bail out people who, virtually without exception, knew they were buying in a flood plain? The people living there and drooling over this government bailout are probably all vigorously protesting government spending to put food on poor peoples’ tables or provide decent medical care for veterans who return from senseless wars with their bodies and minds in ruins.
No worries about the 25 BILLION in red ink………………
“Let the good times roll!!!!”
Lift a toast to me, Mark- HA!
As a resident of a barrier island and property owner about 1/2 mile from the coast line I want to thank all you taxpayers for supporting my flood premiums. I pay $519.00 for over $300,000 of total coverage with $2,500. deductible…..thanks again.
The flood insurance program before biggart waters was broken but the government dropped the ball when FEMA was supposed to do a 4 year study to determine actuarial flood rates but did not complete this study. That forced the government to throw artificial flood rates out there and they were ridiculously high. I am an insurance agent in Florida and one of my customers went from $2,700 a year to $21,000 for the year under the biggart waters act. That is absurd. Another statistic is that Florida has paid 16 billion dollars into the National Flood Insurance Program and have only claimed 4 billion in losses. Where did that other 12 billion dollars go? Did it stay in the NFIP and get used to pay flood claims in other areas or did our government delegate that money to other failing programs such as Cash For Clunkers or Green Energy Programs. There is a happy medium for the flood insurance but if nobody does the required studies to determine what areas should pay higher flood rates, then the program will always be broken.
The other 12 billion went to agents (15-20 %) and ins companies to administer the program(35%) and claim adjusters(15%). Maybe flood should be direct purchase no need for agent.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve only made 5% on flood. It was never worth the headache to me, so I referred it all to a flood-only agency in town.
we get 15% renewal and 18% new. Every three years we move the book for 20% and undisclosed bonus$$$. Companies love it no risk minimal underwriting easy to handle. Look at their annual reports they brag about it.
The federal levee failures during Katrina were a pivotal moment in American history. In addition to redrawing national flood maps, there were many changes in national policy including passage of a National Levee Safety Act and changes in the way the Army Corps builds levees and inspects.
Like the 1927 Flood, or the 1973 flood?
I will respond when you say what is similar between the 2005 Flood and the 1927 and 1973 Floods. Just to be sure I comprehend.
Or the 1955 flood in CT
Plenty of water……….
Signing a bill did not offer any relief. FEMA will not do anything they said for at least a year. I’m a single mom and my insurance is up for renewal now @ $7000.00 on a $35000 loan. My house is not on a beach and has not flooded. The bank is for placing my insurance @ $350.00 for 45 days which is cheaper than FEMA. The bill was signed yes but it is a scam there is absolutely no relief :(
if you do flood, with bank placed insurance they get the check pay off the loan and you have no cash and flood damaged property. Then you you can try and get loan to repair good luck.
So the tax payers pick up the cost avoided by those poor waterfront property owners.
Actually, it was found after the levees failed that flood zone maps all over the country were outdated.
The seacoast is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the nation. This Flood insurance releif is using the tax money from all americans to subsidize the insurance bills of the wealthiest people in america. The rich keep on getting richer by rules and regulation set forth by both repiblicans and democrats.
We need another political party who will really represent middle america and not just say so.
Actually, that’s not the case. When the Corps’ levees broke in New Orleans in 2005, it was discovered that flood zone maps everywhere were outdated. And people in flood zones will see their insurance go up like 15-fold.
Don’t you get tired of talking about the rich people and flood insurance? It truly shows you have absolutely no grasp of this situation. Flood insurance affects everyone. Inland homes, coastal homes, homes near creeks and rivers. The majority of the issue is about homes built before there were flood maps. You are all for subsidies that would benefit you but not for others. When FEMA can provide rates that are based upon actual risk we will be moving forward. Most of the rich homeowners I see are buying or owning homes that are built up high and have proper flood venting so this doesn’t affect them in any way. It is the middle class homes for the most part that are seeing unaffordable increases. Lets also not mention the surplus that is never allowed to build up to cover these catastrophic events. If they would have allowed surplus to build up I bet there would not be a problem to even discuss. This isn’t the fault of homeowners but of our government.
Exactly. There are middle class folks who live in central parts of a coastal state who are in so-called “flood zones” and their rates took a hike. This happened to friends of mine and it really is unbelievable. This is not about paying for the flood insurance of beachfront mansions, do some research. Poke around online and you will find a majority of people do not even live NEAR a coast and faced HUGE flood premiums for an area that has never or rarely flooded (and if it did flood, was not catastrophic). The whole system is flawed. Furthermore, for areas that DO flood and it is inevitable that a flood will happen – perhaps it makes more sense to offer financial incentives to build/create/modify appropriate homes or home modifications, i.e., reduce cost to raise an existing home closer to above flood level. We should be thinking about PREVENTATIVE measures, not just measures that focus on solutions post-flood. Makes no sense to rebuild property without water level precautions.
Love the position of the critics. It’s always been about the rich. That’s right, America is paying for flood insurance on the beachfront homes of millionaires. Of course, let’s dismiss the middle class houses facing 10-fold increases in premiums, in neighborhoods that have never flooded. A $10K policy on a $150K home is “actuarially sound” for sure. I’m sure the critics are far from affected neighborhoods.
I guess ignorance is bliss.
Obuma was for it before he was against it…….again.
It is unfortunate that so many people are commenting on a situation that they have no knowledge of. I have a middle class family cottage approximately 3/4 mile from the beach. I have owned it for 10 years. When I purchased it, there was no flood insurance required (for good reason because it has NEVER come close to flooding since it was built in 1937). In 2012 it was remapped into a flood zone (FEMA made this determination without any professional local community input). The first year I paid $1900 for my premium and this year they want $4500. What will they want for the premium next year?
An area that never flooded in the past is now surrounded by roads (dams), shopping centers and subdivisions instead of wooded areas and natural topography.
The dynamics have changed, throw out the old benchmarks.
New maps just came out here on barrier island and we are no longer in flood zone. What most people tend to overlook is the fact that the MAXIMUM insurance you can buy is $250,000. How much should insurance cost to cover a risk of that amount? The new rates are based upon how many feet a property is above or below the Base Flood Elevation (BFE). It is interesting to note that FEMA will disqualify a US home from being out of a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) over 1/10 of a foot or 1.2 inches while in the US possession of Puerto Rico, it would be 1/10 of a meter or 3.9 inches! The process that FEMA has detailed to get re-designated is anything but easy (as they will tell you it is). This is not about rich or poor, it is about fair and realistic rates. If I am not mistaken, every American who pays taxes have helped those with mudslides, earthquakes and other “Acts of God”, so get of the soap box.
I have lived in my property for over 22 years. Never flooded. Had insurance to cover the mortgage. NOW however that’s not good enough I have to cover enough to cover the ENTIRE PROPERTY VALUE? What I am really doing is subsidizing the governments bad decisions in insuring people who have and will flood again. My flood insurance tripled in one year. This in essence is a new hidden tax the government has levied on those of us who haven’t and won’t flood.
I was just notified that my flood insurance rates are going up 25% max every year and they’ve added a $250 surcharge! My rate went up last year $300. WTF! I can’t afford this crap with sky-rocketing health insurance copayments.
move…….or pay off loan and self insure.
If you can afford to buy a house you should be able to afford insurance!
It is not the responsibility of the taxpayer, people that do not own property, to provide insurance that will benefit the property owner!
If everyone of the 1,000,000 policy holders effected by the rate hike would stop paying, the system would collapse, and it would not take lawmakers but one day to fix it. Money talks, and the BS walks.
I live on a lake in Alabama. The property was built above the flood plain but the government came up with a way to gain more money for FEMA by moving the flood line back five feet which now encompasses over 95% of the homes around the lake. Now we are all required to pay for flood insurance. This property has been on this lake for twenty-seven years and never flooded because the Army Corp of Engineers put the flood plain line so that water would run over the downstream down before it would get above the flood line. So now we are paying for insurance because some politicians not engineers decided to move the flood line back five feet!
you can self insure just don’t borrow money. The NFIP program is for the banks not the policy holder.
We live in a three bedroom ranch in Ohio. We purchased our house in 2003 and it was not considered in a “flood zone” (there wasn’t any information on our contract about a possible flood zone) until Hurricane Katrina totaled the south and the government didn’t have funds to bail out! So, we started having to pay flood insurance a couple years after the hurricane. Obama passes this STUPID bill and now we’re paying $200 a month in flood insurance! We received a statement from FEMA telling us that our flood insurance will go up by 18% ($400 + a MONTH)or more within the next 5-10 years! We won’t be able to sell the house because who on earth would pay that much in flood insurance?? Eventually, we won’t be able to afford living here! Thanks a lot Congressmen, Senators and Obama!!!!
Tammy, the bank makes you buy flood insurance, because we tax payers guarantee your loan to the bank and want to be protected. And the flood program was broke before Katrina. as for the rates, insurance is just a transfer of money in money out with the servicing companies and adjusters taking 40% of the premiums for no risk.