R Street Institute

Op-Eds

Flood insurance cost starts to reflect risks

by R.J. Lehmann
Aug 21, 2013
Print
originally published in Wall Street Journal
Flood-insurance rates are indeed rising for some (“Flood Insurance Prices Surge,” U.S. News, Aug. 13), but only because rates are finally reflecting risks that the rest of the country has borne for years. Cheap flood-insurance rates encourage migration to dangerous coastal regions, leaving American taxpayers on the hook to pay for the recovery after a storm hits. The Biggert-Waters Act corrects this imbalance.

While the examples mentioned in your article are indeed shocking, they are the exception, not the rule. In fact, the act gives homeowners plenty of time to adjust to higher rates by phasing in increases slowly over several years.

Ray Lehmann
R Street Institute

Steve Ellis
Taxpayers for Common Sense

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