Cochran legislation to assist flood insurance
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., is co-sponsoring legislation aimed at helping those living in floodprone areas avoid higher flood insurance rates set to be imposed in 2014 and beyond.
Cochran and Sen. David Vit- ter, R-La., sponsored the bill to delay the phase-in period for new flood insurance rates until communities have more time to prepare.
The issue has been controversial in many areas, including DeSoto County and other parts of Mississippi, because of changes in Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps that have required some people to get flood insurance who didn’t previously need it. Under the changes, they would also pay higher rates.
“Families, businesses and communities in Mississippi and around the nation need assurance that new flood insurance premiums will not be cost-prohibitive,” Cochran said in a statement. “Our legislation seeks to ensure that any higher flood insurance costs, on top of other insurance require- ments, do not overwhelm family budgets or economic growth in areas that rely on the National Flood Insurance Program.”
The Vitter- Cochran legislation, called the Responsible Implementation of Flood Insurance Reform Act, contains several provisions to help mitigate the effects of the coming changes in insurance coverage require-
ments and rates:
Ensure that communities that were developing new flood maps by the end of 2013 will be able to maintain the grandfathered rates that are subject to change under the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012.
Allow a five-year phase-in of new rates for newly purchased homes.
Authorize state and local government flexibility in subsidizing homeowners’ flood insurance if they choose.
Allow 25 percent of mitigation funding in a given year to go directly to homeowners to support improvements.
Prohibit FEMA from considering the level of federal funding or participation in a flood-control project when determining the level of protection the project provides to the community.
Require FEMA to include protection provided by a levee, dam or other flood-control structures before a flood insurance rate map or update is finalized.