EDITORIAL: Flood insurance plan raises questions

Nov. 16--An overhaul of the federal flood insurance program is long overdue, but the latest delay should relieve thousands of homeowners in coastal areas like Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

The new system, called Risk Rating 2.0, had been scheduled to take effect in October. But FEMA, the agency that oversees the National Flood Insurance Program, agreed to delay it for a year.

"This prevents potential increases in flood insurance premiums," U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a news release. "It highlights the need for a long-term fix to make sure the National Flood Insurance Program is affordable for homeowners."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's plan aims to bring insurance costs more in line with the actual risk of flooding. Proponents have argued for years that such changes are necessary to both discourage people from living in flood-prone areas and to cut the program's debt to U.S. taxpayers, estimated at more than $20 billion.

But Louisiana lawmakers have consistently pressed to ensure that flood insurance remains affordable, especially for residents of coastal areas like Terrebonne and Lafourche. And they are not alone. More than five dozen U.S. representatives, a mix of Democrats and Republicans that includes Houma-Thibodaux area congressman Garret Graves, outlined their concerns about the measure in a Nov. 1 letter to House leaders.

"We are concerned this proposal does not address premium increases our constituents expect under FEMA's new methodology," the letter states. "While FEMA intends Risk Rating 2.0 to provide more accurate and transparent flood insurance pricing, this untested proposal could lead to increased premiums, forcing homeowners to drop coverage, or even worse, lose their home."

FEMA officials have said cost increases under the new flood insurance rating system would be capped at 18 percent. Opponents, including Cassidy, have sought to lower that limit.

Lawmakers also want to know how the new costs would be calculated. Under the plan, FEMA would use data and computer models to estimate each individual home's flood risk and assign an insurance price accordingly. That would end the long-term practice of basing costs on FEMA maps that take into account land elevation and other factors. The maps are then used to create zones in which all homeowners pay similar flood insurance costs.

In their letter, lawmakers also raise questions about how the new system would affect the practice of grandfathering, a practice that allows homeowners to keep lower rates if new FEMA elevation maps show a higher flood risk than previous ones. And they want to know how costs would be determined for communities with flood-protection levees, something that has concerned local officials for years.

FEMA has apparently gotten the message.

"Additional time is required to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the proposed rating structure so as to protect policyholders and minimize any unintentional negative effects of the transition," FEMA said in a statement last week. "Therefore, FEMA decided to defer the implementation of Risk Rating 2.0 by one year to October 1, 2021."

Lawmakers and the constituents they represent deserve answers to these questions before such a major change takes effect. FEMA also owes it to everyone involved to lead a widespread public education campaign that explains these changes and how they will affect homeowners, especially those in flood-prone communities.

-- Editorials represent the opinion of this newspaper and not any single individual.

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