Why aren’t the federal flood insurance coverage limits no less than equal to the quantity which the Federal authorities backs Fannie Mae mortgages? Why haven’t federal flood limits on residential insurance policies stored up with inflation? Why do they keep the identical for over a decade? And why isn’t the elevated prices of compliance protection as much as $100,000, so folks can rebuild to the brand new flood commonplace?
I used to be interested by these questions whereas studying a Sarasota Herald function story, FEMA Rule Could Mean Many Can’t Afford to Rebuild After Hurricane Ian, which famous:
Thousands of householders in Southwest Florida whose properties have been broken by flooding from Hurricane Ian are operating right into a bureaucratic buzzsaw which will pressure them to tear down their properties and rebuild at increased elevations.
In response, some native governments are in search of workarounds to assist owners keep away from wholesale reconstruction, however as a result of the laws are designed to stop future flooding injury, federal officers appear unlikely to calm down the principles.
This will doubtless preclude some property house owners from rebuilding as a result of they’ll’t afford the price of constructing increased.
The complete variety of properties affected by the Federal Emergency Management Agency necessities at challenge aren’t but clear, however it’s prone to be substantial. Many owners might not but know the hardships they’ll face if they aren’t far alongside sufficient within the post-Ian reconstruction course of.
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In the worst-case situations, the extra prices imposed by the federal laws may imply properties have to be taken right down to their concrete slabs and a number of other toes of fill dust introduced in to lift a website above the world’s base-flood elevation earlier than a home-owner may even start to rebuild.
In an insurance coverage world the place each insurer has penalties for not insuring to worth, the present federal flood program underinsures lots of its insured buildings. Why? I can’t discover any reply to this aside from Congress has not raised the flood coverage limits. While the federal authorities insures the mortgages for a lot increased quantities, it doesn’t require these financing to insure to the worth of the mortgage. This is mindless.
I don’t imply to beat a lifeless horse, however the 50% rule could be very a lot a related a part of each important Hurricane Ian and Nicole adjustment, as I indicated in, Can You Get Around FEMA’s 50% Rule?
Thought For The Day
Life is like using a bicycle. To preserve your steadiness, it’s essential to preserve transferring.
—Albert Einstein