Flood Insurance Increases Still In the Cards

The day after Superstorn Sandy struck, corner of Moreland St.
and Midland Ave., Staten Island (Photo: Mark Ruquet) 

By Mark E. Ruquet

Despite the President's signing of House Bill 3370, homeowners in flood zones still face exorbitant premium increase in their coverage, it's just been delayed.

While the law rolls back rates, it also permits increases of up to 18 percent a year, which means many homeowners will eventually be facing premium charges that puts them in the same situation they face today. It is only a delay. So what's the remedy? Get out of your home or mitigate? Easy said than done for many of us.

An article from the Associated Press illustrates that this issue is not limited to those of us living near a coast line. Indeed, these are people sitting inland living in cities where the options to mitigate their flood exposure are few.

Please click here to read "Flood Insurance Costs Still on the Rise Despite New Law."

The reality is, just raising insurance rates is not an answer. We need a national plan to address flood exposure and obviously, risk transfer is not the sole answer.