Letters: Explanations by FEMA on flood insurance rates fall short

In your article "State seeks halt to flood insurance premium hikes" on Sept. 15, Mike Smith reported that FEMA stated that "changes make the system fairer for everyone" since the new formula (Risk Rating 2.0) weighs the risk of each individual home.

How do we know what went into Risk Rating 2.0 when FEMA (and the Justice Department, which has oversight) will not reveal the factors that affected each flood insurance premium?

FEMA states that the flood insurance determining factors are proprietary even though FEMA is "open" to the public.

We need to ask FEMA what gives and why can't you disclose the factors that go into each policy premium.

FEMA is a public federal entity. Why are they being so "close-mouthed" by refusing to divulge the computations that go into each flood premium determination?

I am a former owner of an insurance agency and have experience selling flood insurance. I'm glad that I retired before Risk Rating 2.0 came out.

I would not have been able to explain to my customers why their premiums were increasing by an extreme amount or to someone wanting to purchase a new flood policy.

This is my first letter to the editor. After reading the article, I just had to comment on it. I think Mike Smith did an excellent job presenting the facts in his article, and I salute him for it.

PATRICK FONTENOT

Lafayette