Coastal residence have a unique risk of flooding and rising water which is not always a threat to other Texans and our Insurance faces changes in 2011. Our FEMA managed National Flood Insurance Program is just as necessary today as it was 40 years ago.
Here are some considerations:
- There is not a private market that would be willing to provide this coverage. Why you ask? Well, simply put- people that are the most at risk to flood are the only consumers who purchase flood insurance. What that means to us in the Texas Gulf Coast is that there is no large group paying for the losses of a few.
- There is nothing stopping private insurance companies from offering flood insurance outside the National Flood Insurance Program to Texas Coastal Residence , but they have chosen not to. Lawmakers have subsidized high risk property owners for years through the FEMA program, so to actually charge what it would cost to pay claims from massive flooding would be unaffordable.
- Currently the program is $20 billion dollars in debt and the interest payment on the debt alone costs NFIP $900 million a year.
Reform is certainly needed for Flood Insurance for Texas Gulf Coast residence and others who live on coastlines in the US and I would expect this to be addressed in 2011 legislation.
I can understand why people in the mountains of Colorado would not want their government dollars paying for flood insurance subsidy’s to the wealth beach house owner.
The simple truth is that it’s not the wealthy who need this coverage.
- It’s refinery and ship channel workers.
- It’s nurses and teachers and firefighters.
- It’s the hard working people who live and support their families on the Texas Gulf Coast.
To find out more about flood insurance including the local areas which are high risk and current rates contact Paula Smith Insurance at (281) 488-8880.