USA TODAY NETWORK | THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2021 | 11S
Why fl ood insurance is a necessity Keith Magill Houma Courier-Thibodaux Daily Comet USA TODAY NETWORK
Bert Riggs Jr. 18, carries fi shing nets from his home on La. 56, north of Chauvin, on Sept. 24, 2005 after Hurricane Rita flooded the community. THE COURIER AND DAILY COMET/FILE
Most residents should buy fl ood in surance because it protects their largest investment, their home and its con tents, which could otherwise be lost to a hurricane’s fl ooding and strong winds, offi cials say. Four of every fi ve homes in Terre bonne and Lafourche parishes are at risk of being damaged by hurricane storm surges, according to reports from the global property research company CoreLogic. A total of 71,673 local homes are at risk of fl ooding from hurricane storm surges. Combined, the homes would cost an estimated $14.5 billion to rebuild. Local homes at risk are also more than double the number covered by fl ood insurance. Recent FEMA statistics show the National Flood Insurance Pro gram covered nearly 27,000 local homes with a combined value of roughly $7 bil lion.
Based on the data, if a major storm surge hits, tens of thousands of resi dents without fl ood insurance could face having to come up with money to rebuild homes that CoreLogic’s report indicate are at high risk. The National Flood Insurance Pro gram is the only place you can get fl ood insurance, and it takes eff ect 30 days af ter you buy a policy. Flood insurance prices can vary de pending on your risk. In Louisiana, the average policy costs $726 a year, ac cording to an analysis released April 27 by ValuePenguin, an insurance research company. The average policy cost $583 a year in Houma and $619 in unincorpo rated Lafourche Parish. Meanwhile, 2019 census data show the median home’s value was about $160,000 in both parishes. But changes as early as this year could make it more expensive. The Federal Emergency Manage ment Agency, which administers the fl ood insurance program, plans to enact something called Risk Rating 2.0 for
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new policies Oct. 1 and for renewals starting in April 2022. The plan aims to bring insurance costs more in line with the actual risk of fl ooding and help re duce the program’s debt, which hovers at just over $20 billion. FEMA planned to enact the new rat ing system in 2019 but delayed under pressure from members of Congress from Louisiana and elsewhere who were concerned it would push costs to unaff ordable levels for many homeown ers. For years, critics have pushed to end taxpayer subsidies they say keep poli cies’ costs artifi cially low and encourage people to build and live in harm’s way. But local offi cials and others counter that would make insurance unaff ord able for almost everyone in places like coastal Louisiana, wrecking lives and decimating economies. To buy fl ood insurance, visit or call your homeowners’ insurance agent. You can learn more at the program’s’ web site, fl oodsmart.com, which includes a calculator to estimate your cost.
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