Congressman Troy Carter and the Entire Louisiana House Delegation Sends Letter Pushing for Flood Insurance Affordability, Transparency

Louisiana – On August 4, 2022, U.S. Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. of Louisiana led a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Deputy Associate Administrator of Insurance and Mitigation, David Maurstad, on behalf of the entire Louisiana House delegation.

Together, Representatives Troy Carter, Steve Scalise, Garret Graves, Mike Johnson, Clay Higgins, and Julia Letlow submitted a letter requesting that FEMA commit to increasing transparency and affordability in the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Risk Rating 2.0 system.

“In Louisiana, many have experienced dramatic increases in the cost of policies without any explanation of what risk factors are causing these increases,” reads the joint letter. “We continue to be extremely concerned about Risk Rating 2.0’s treatment of flood protection and mitigation measures when setting individual rates. We have discussed these concerns with the people of Louisiana who are experts on flood protection and mitigation, including levee protection, home elevation, and coastal restoration, and it is increasingly concerning that there is still inadequate and insufficient information on how these protection efforts will be recognized under Risk Rating 2.0.”

Some NFIP customers in Louisiana have seen their premiums double or triple. According to an investigation by The Advocate, around 50% of Louisiana policyholders will likely suffer phased-in increases of more than 129 percent, while approximately 10% will see rates soar 400%. According to the Associated Press, FEMA estimates that under the new Risk Rating 2.0 program, 1 million Americans will be unable to purchase flood insurance by the end of the decade.

Tragically, in far too many situations, rising premiums force homeowners to choose between paying other household costs and retaining active flood insurance coverage, a decision that the Louisiana House congressional delegation condemns in their letter.

“People should be rewarded, not penalized, for taking lifesaving measures to mitigate and protect against future floods,” the signers of the letter concluded. “As such, we look forward to your prompt response regarding this serious matter.”

Last week, Congressman Carter also announced the formation of the Bipartisan Congressional Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Caucus, a group of four co-chairs from different parties of government united in the battle to strengthen and streamline our nation’s disaster preparedness and response systems. The caucus is also anticipated to address the National Flood Insurance Program and Risk Rating 2.0.