Federal flood insurance program stuck on hold as Hurricane Harvey tallies climb

September 1, 2017August 30, 2017 H. Cutner

Southeastern Texas was devastated by the storm, placing the focus back on NFIP and the GOP restructuring effort. The Federal flood insurance program is in limbo at the moment while Texans face catastrophe following Hurricane Harvey. The Republicans have been trying to restructure the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Their goal has been to partially privatize it. NFIP is a subsidized program that costs taxpayers tens of billions in federal subsidies. The federal flood insurance program is facing an upcoming deadline of September 30. Unless Congress agrees to extend the…

Canadian flooding may leave homeowners paying out of pocket

May 11, 2017May 10, 2017 Julie Campbell

Heavy rains soaked huge portions of Ontario and Quebec as well as British Columbia and New Brunswick. The Canadian flooding from last week’s record level rains caused water levels to rapidly rise and enter thousands of homes. The lack of flood insurance among homeowners now means that many Canadians will be paying for cleanup and repairs out of their own pockets. Residential flood insurance only recently became available to homeowners in the country. Only between 10 and 15 percent of insured homeowners have overland flood insurance, says Insurance Bureau of…

Flood insurance premiums rise and will likely continue rising

April 11, 2017April 7, 2017 G. Turner

Homeowners seeking to purchase coverage against overland flooding will be paying more as of this month. Changes that took effect on April 1 are sending flood insurance premiums skyward. This applies to homeowners who already have coverage against flooding as well as those who are buying it for the first time. National Flood Insurance Program rates rose by an average of approximately 6 percent this month. As a result, the average annual flood insurance premiums are now around $878. This doesn’t include a number of different types of surcharge which…