The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it is moving quickly to implement the new flood insurance law that cancels many of the large rate increases the agency had been implementing under the 2012 Biggert-Waters Act, NOLA.com reports. But some Louisiana lawmakers, including Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and David Vitter, R-La., are asking the agency to quicken the pace.
President Barack Obama signed into law on March 21 the flood insurance premium relief bill passed by a U.S. Senate vote of 72-22 on March 13.
Landrieu and Vitter are pushing FEMA to implement quickly a part of the relief bill that waived a provision under Biggert-Waters that raised flood insurance rates immediately to actuarial levels once a home changes owners. The hard-fought law also aims to hold the rising flood insurance premiums associated with the Biggert-Waters Act to 18% of a plan’s annual rate. Additionally, the law tasks the Federal Emergency Management Agency with “striving” to cap annual premiums for policyholders at 1% of their total coverage. A $150,000 policy, for example, would have a flood insurance premium of $1,500.
