Opinion | Policy holders benefit under new flood insurance rating

Capital Times, The (Madison, WI)

Dear Editor: In 2019, my neighbors and I were forced from our homes by a record 14.3 inches of rainfall. Sadly, flooding in southwest Wisconsin is becoming all too common, destroying properties, closing businesses and costing all of us for the recovery.

I'm one of over 5 million Americans who currently pay for flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which was created in 1968 to provide affordable insurance premiums for homeowners at risk of flooding.

Unfortunately, the program is outdated. The 100-year flood zone - which decides who pays flood insurance and who doesn't - no longer means what it used to. In fact, severe weather and flooding often outpace the premiums that I and others pay, meaning the American taxpayer is on the hook for the rest.

That's why the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently proposed Risk Rating 2.0, a new fairer way of calculating flood insurance premiums. It is slated to begin on Oct. 1, 2021, for new policies, with a second phase going into effect next year for everyone who currently has a policy.

According to FEMA, more than 4,300 single-family homeowners in Wisconsin will benefit from decreased premiums under the new rate structure. More than 94% of policyholders across the state will see either a decrease in payments or an increase of less than $10 a month beginning next year. That's a lot better than the steep increases we have been experiencing recently.

This change is not only fairer for homeowners who pay flood insurance but it would encourage communities to take flood resilience seriously in how they plan, build and communicated risk with all residents. Congress should do its part and get behind FEMA's common-sense proposal of Risk Rating 2.0.