WICKER, HYDE-SMITH REITERATE NEED FOR FEMA TO ABANDON PRICEY BIDEN-ERA FLOOD INSURANCE CHANGES

The following information was released by Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith:

Miss. Senators, Colleagues Demand End as Policyholders Abandon National Flood Insurance Program Policies

WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) this week reiterated the need for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to end Biden-era changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that are driving families and businesses away from vital disaster insurance coverage.

Wicker and Hyde-Smith signed a letter led by U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) that asks Acting FEMA Administrator Karen Evans to halt further implementation of the NIFP Risk Rating 2.0 pricing system. The request, a follow-up to a June 2025 letter, again raises concerns that Risk Rating 2.0 has led to unacceptable premium increases that undermine the long-term future of NFIP.

"Since Risk Rating 2.0 took effect, flood insurance premiums have increased in every state, and FEMA estimates that approximately 77 percent of policyholders now pay more than they would have under the prior system. In Louisiana and other flood-prone states, premium increases of well over 100 percent have forced tens of thousands of homeowners to drop coverage altogether. These trends are not isolatedthey reflect a nationwide contraction in NFIP participation driven by affordability pressures," the Senators wrote.

"This loss of participation is a structural problem for the NFIP. Flood insurance depends on a broad risk pool to function effectively. As policyholders exit the program, risk becomes more concentrated, premiums face additional upward pressure, and volatility increases," the Senators explained. "At the same time, uninsured homeowners are more likely to rely on post-disaster federal assistance, shifting costs away from a pre-disaster insurance model and onto taxpayers. Rather than reducing federal exposure, Risk Rating 2.0 risks increasing long-term disaster costs while weakening the insurance base Congress intended the program to rely upon."

In their initial request to FEMA last summer, the Senators cited estimates that at least 84 percent of Mississippi NFIP policyholders experienced sharp increases in their monthly premiums under Risk Rating 2.0.

"Time is of the essence. Each year Risk Rating 2.0 remains in place, participation continues to erode, the insurance pool weakens, and taxpayer exposure grows. Immediate action must be taken to stop the actuarial death spiral," the Senators concluded.

The letter also called attention FEMA's lack of transparency in releasing the data on which Risk Rating 2.0 was based and criticized the agency's response to their June 2025 request.

In addition to Cassidy, Wicker, and Hyde-Smith, the latest letter was signed by U.S. Senators John Kennedy, Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas).

The letter to Acting FEMA Administrator Evans is available here.

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