Follow @FloodPanel

Flood Barrier USA

Flood Protection for Commercial Property

  • Home
  • About Flood Barrier USA
  • Flooding News
  • Contact Us

Future of Flood Insurance Program Uncertain

Author: Flood Expert Donna Conneely

It’s that time of year … no, not the holidays, but that time of year when Congress takes another look at the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This has become something of an annual legislative ordeal, and has been since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Prior to Katrina, the debt that had been accrued by the NFIP were paid off every year, and the program was relatively stable and sustainable. Hurricane Katrina, however, left massive insurance payouts in its wake, and these debts could not be paid off as they had been in previous years. Today the NFIP is in debt to the US Treasury to the tune of $23 billion!

The predicament has become much like that of many ordinary people who carry large sums on their credit cards. At first, the situation seems manageable, and the debtor is happy enough to push the responsibility for repayment into the future as far as possible. Soon, however, the interest on the old debt combines with new debt to form a veritable monster of a balance, all but guaranteeing that it can never be paid off. In the worst case scenario, the debtor is doomed to an endless payment schedule that covers only the interest!

This nightmare scenario is close to the case of the NFIP at the present time. It is small wonder that Congress has chosen to apply a bandaid to the program each year for the past decade, because making the real changes needed to truly fix the program will be insanely expensive and unpopular. In addition to these already considerable obstacles, there are many other impediments to fixing the NFIP; including the projected huge increase in flooding events due to climate change, and a large number of currently insured properties that have flooded repeatedly.

National Academy of Sciences - Community Based Flood Insurance

Please click graph to view the National Academies of Sciences’ slide show explaining their proposal for Community-Based Flood Insurance in a new window.

This year, many in Congress would like to see the NFIP privatized. Depending on one’s point of view, this idea is either a great plan or a potential disaster. Many people in Congress, as well as their constituents, will applaud the prospect of removing the federal government from the flood insurance business. These people may say that taxpayers should not be on the hook for poor choices made by those who own property in flood-prone areas. Others may look at the results of past privatizations, such as various penal institutions, private contractors in foreign war zones, or utility services and voice well-founded alarm. When a service is conducted by a private enterprise, profit is sometimes valued above concepts of fairness, the overall good of the community, or even safety.

So this spring, as Congress once again examines the NFIP, it is likely that Congress will look at ways to extricate the federal government from the program, replacing the program with private insurers. This development, should it materialize, will send many owners of risk-prone properties into a state of panic, because they will likely be excluded from the rolls of any company operating purely for profit. As the original purpose of the NFIP was to avoid this very situation, it would be an unfortunate end to a program designed to alleviate suffering and hardship.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 2nd, 2017 at 11:55 am and is filed under Flood Protection. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Future of Flood Insurance Program Uncertain”

January 2nd, 2017 at 12:49 pm

Future of Flood Insurance Program Uncertain - Architecture Metals says:

[…] By Donna Conneely […]

Leave a Reply

  • Sponsor Resources

    Flood Panel (Standard)
    Flood Panel, a flood barrier

     
    Panel-and-Post System
    Panel and Post System

     
    Puddle Panel
    Puddle Panel, a flood shield

     
    Hinged Flood Gate
    Hinged Flood Gate

     
    Dual Function Flood Doors
    Dual Function Flood Door

     
    Flood Log
    Flood Log, modular flood barriers

     
  • RSS Google News: Flooding

    • River levels dropping; East Fork still flooding in Seymour - 101.5 ... - 101.5 WKKG
    • Will there be torrential flooding or minor trickles in SC this spring? What the NWS forecasts - The State
    • California farmers flood fields to boost groundwater basin - Yahoo News
    • Showers, Possible Storms And Flooding, Likely For Tuesday - NorthEscambia.com
    • March 28: Missouri River Flooding in 1929 (Part One) | Prairie Public ... - Prairie Public Broadcasting
    • Climate change: Derry council praised in UK-wide report - BBC
    • Nambucca River causes massive problems for oyster grower with three floods, sewage spills - ABC News
    • Campers evacuated at High Falls Park, flooded streets in Monroe County - 13WMAZ.com
    • 'Oh, my God': East Macon neighbors stuck inside homes after flooding on Sunnydale Drive - 13WMAZ.com
    • UT researchers develop smart stormwater basin to prevent flooding ... - The Daily Texan
    • Snow piles up in northern Utah as worries about flooding mount - KUTV 2News
    • 'I can't get my medicine' said a sick elderly man trapped inside his home due to flooding - WACH.com
    • Volunteers start filling 6,000 sandbags a day to prepare for flooding in Stillwater - KARE11.com
    • South Valley families receive care packages after widespread flooding - KFSN-TV
    • Allensworth seeks donations as flooding begins to ebb - Foothills Sun Gazette
    • Mozambique - Floods and Tropical Cyclone Freddy Operational ... - ReliefWeb
    • Oahu flood advisory canceled; heavy showers still possible - Honolulu Star-Advertiser
    • Amid south Valley's massive flooding, where's Gavin? - The San Joaquin Valley Sun
    • Road in McDuffie County washes away from flooding - WJBF-TV
    • Provo prepares for spring runoff and flooding - KSLTV
  • Editor

    Donna Conneely
  • Pages

    • Home
    • About Flood Barrier USA
    • Flooding News
    • Contact Us
Flood Panel - commercial flood protection experts

Copyright © 2023 - Flood Barrier USA | Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS)

Website design by Art Zenith