Gary T. Rucker: Flood insurance rates going up
FEMA and NFIP have made changes to the National Flood Insurance Program effective April 1, that might cause hardships for some in this community.
These changes are brought on by the new Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HFIAA). Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Like the Affordable Care Act, the key word being affordable, which seems to mean increase. Flood insurance rates are going up, along with flood policy fees, increasing the reserve fund assessments brought on by The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, implementing mandatory annual surcharges required by the HFIAA.
If that’s not enough affordability for you, there will be additional increases for the next three years on top of what just took place April 1. Almost all flood policies will be going up, but especially those for non-owner occupied, non-primary residence policies, which will have an annual surcharge of $250 on top of the rate increases. If that doesn’t make you feel hosed by our federal government during our historic drought, nothing will.
Look on the bright side, it could be run by the IRS instead of FEMA, or is there a difference? Call your agent to find options to lower your premium.
Gary T. Rucker, Merced
This story was originally published April 8, 2015 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Gary T. Rucker: Flood insurance rates going up."