Two providers in the state have decided to work to offer cheaper alternatives to residents.
There are two private flood insurance companies that have appeared to offer residents of Florida some alternatives to the skyrocketing rates under the federal program that is currently the primary option in the state.
These two insurers are hoping to be able to offer the coverage for less money than residents would otherwise pay.
The rates that are currently offered under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) are rising higher and two insurers – the Flood Insurance Agency, and Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Co. – are hoping to be able to provide consumers with an alternative. They have now, selectively, started to accept new customers in order to provide this coverage for less than what they would pay through NFIP.
These flood insurance companies are promising to provide consumers with a comparative bargain.
According to the vice president of Homeowners Choice, Kevin Mitchell, “Our goal here … is to have these homeowners pay similarly priced rates to what they were paying before Biggert-Waters.” This was in reference to the law that was passed last year that allowed flood insurance rates to spike.
The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act was passed in order to be able to stabilize the federal flood insurance program through the elimination of subsidies that had previously been benefitting the owners of older homes that are located in areas that have been zoned in some of the highest risk areas. Within some cases, those subsidies are now being gradually phased out, to the point that the increases every year in the rates for coverage are close to 20 percent.
In some situations – such as a lapsed policy or putting a property up for sale – the elimination of the subsidy is immediately removed, starting at the start of this month with renewals. This has launched a tremendous wave of complaints from homeowners who have been experiencing flood insurance premiums hikes from $2,000 per year to $14,000 or even more than that. As the congressional delegation in Florida is seeking a way to repair this issue, the two private insurers have taken it upon themselves to come up with a new strategy that they are calling far more affordable for those homeowners.