A Devastating Hurricane Season Exposes America ’s Flood Insurance Problem

As Hurricane Irma continued on a collision course toward South Florida with wind speeds topping 150 mph, millions of people in the region boarded up their homes and packed up their bags. In the face of a storm that is predicted to be devastating, the question looming over many families is whether they will be able to afford to rebuild their homes if they’re destroyed. At the heart of that question is the issue of flood insurance — an increasingly fraught topic not just in South Florida but in the flood-prone regions of the country as a whole. Private insurance companies moved away from offering flood insurance policies decades ago, and the government-run National Flood Insurance Program that fills the gaps is facing its own struggles, including a budget shortfall and a debate over its very existence as a public program. Recent changes to the program have already had an impact on Florida. Revisions that increased premiums and made it easier to drop coverage have led to a 15% decline in coverage in the state since Congress made the changes five years ago, according to data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). And even the state’s 1.7 million NFIP policyholders —35% of all the program’s participants across the country — have reason for concern. The program is $25 billion in debt and could easily hit its $30.4 billion borrowing cap under federal law as it pays claims to victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The looming funding...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Congress FEMA hurricane irma Natural Disasters Source Type: news