NU Online News Service, Dec. 2, 3:43 p.m. EST

Two Democratic senators Tuesday introduced legislation in the current lame-duck session that would delay for five years a mandate that homeowners included in new flood zones buy "market-based" insurance policies.

According to Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., the delay will give homeowners in the affected districts–such as on Long Island and in East St. Louis, Ill.–the opportunity to challenge the new flood maps.

The legislation would also make low-cost preferred risk policies available to any homeowner who wishes to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Earlier in the year, Sen. Durbin won a delay for two years in charging new market rates for residents of East St. Louis from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Jimi Grande, senior vice president of federal and political affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), assailed the legislation, suggesting that it is "short-sighted."

He said, "Rather than pursuing a piecemeal approach, we at NAMIC have called on Congress to address the significant structural flaws in the National Flood Insurance Program, one of which is its reliance on outdated floodplain maps.

"We would urge members of Congress to carefully consider the potential costs of this legislation," Mr. Grande said.

He added that while delaying the implementation of the mandatory purchase requirement may save homeowners some money over the next few years, without flood coverage their costs could end up being much higher.

Mr. Grande said the new legislation introduced is "a short sighted political reaction that ignores important policy and practical implications. It would do nothing to help protect those homeowners from flood-related losses, while adding to the burden on the NFIP and the taxpayers.

Ben McKay, senior vice president of federal government relations at PCI, said, "While PCI, in these economic times, certainly understands the desire to soften the requirement and the cost of purchasing this important coverage, there are several problems with the proposal from Senators Schumer and Durbin.

"The NFIP faces over $18 billion in debt and this new proposal stands to further increase the need for government disaster aid following a tragic event. The bill would make both our nation's economy and communities even more financially vulnerable to devastating floods.

"The NFIP is in need of comprehensive reform. While their proposal has many negative unintended consequences, we agree with Senators Schumer and Durbin that the flood map program needs to be fixed. However, calls for the privatization of the flood program could require a massive rate increase which is unfair when the government is still struggling to provide accurate flood maps."

Sen. Schumer said he introduced the bill because he is "highly critical" of FEMA flood-mapping techniques and has been pushing the agency "to go back to the drawing board to devise a flood map plan that reflects the on-the-ground realities of communities now being impacted by new flood elevation requirements."

Under the NFIP reform legislation passed in 2003, homeowners who live in an area designated as a flood zone are federally mandated to purchase flood insurance.

These policies can cost up to $2,000 per year on Long Island, Sen. Schumer said.

Sen. Schumer said his bill would also phase in the amount of flood insurance required over an additional five years following the end of the five-year moratorium.

NFIP reauthorization legislation, H.R. 5114, the "Flood Insurance Reform and Priorities Act of 2010," was passed by the House July 15, but it has little support in the Senate.

Special Reports /

Democratic Senators Introduce Bill To Delay New Flood Insurance Mandates

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