Florida - Tuesday May 6, 2023: Florida has joined nine other states in a lawsuit against the federal government to block sharp increases in national flood insurance rates that are slated to be phased in over the coming years under new methods of calculating premiums for the National Flood Insurance Program.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in New Orleans on June 1 — the first day of hurricane season — says the new system gives too little consideration of local flood mitigation efforts, such as new or beefed up levee systems, or individual property owners' efforts to make their properties more flood resilient.
"It impacts anybody who lives near water,” Louisiana Solicitor General Elizabeth Murrill said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has said its new National Flood Insurance Program premium system is an improvement over past methods, incorporating data that wasn’t used in the past, including scientific models and costs involved in rebuilding a home. FEMA says the new system means owners of lower-cost homes will no longer be subsidizing the flood risk for pricier, waterfront properties. They began using the new formula in 2021. The agency has said the old method would result in people with lower-valued homes paying more than a fair share while those with higher-value homes pay relatively less.
In some communities however, officials report that policy holders in the coming years will be facing huge increases, in some cases more than 1,000 percent. This, as worries grow that climate change is fueling more severe storms and sea rise.
Others however are seeing relatively small changes in premiums, and some are seeing lower rates under the program, which began with new policies in 2021, and with renewing policies last year. Rate increases are supposed to be capped at 18% per year.
The states that have joined Florida in the lawsuit are:
- Florida
- Louisiana
- Idaho
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Montana
- North Dakota
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Virginia
The new policy affects people throughout the nation.