In the News House passes private Flood insurance bill
“The NFIP remains more than $20 billion in debt to U.S. taxpayers and has been on the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office’s list of high-risk federal programs since 2006. Prospects to shrink the program’s $1.1 trillion of total property exposure rely on the emergence of private-sector solutions,” said R.J. Lehmann, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based conservative and libertarian think tank, the R Street Institute.Washington, D.C.-based SmarterSafer.org, which describes itself as a national coalition of taxpayer advocates, environmental groups, insurance interests, housing organizations and mitigation advocates, agreed.
“Our nation’s disaster policies urgently need reform, and this bill is an excellent step in the right direction. More competition in the Flood insurance marketplace will give consumers access to better coverage and lower rates. For too long, outdated regulations have forced consumers to rely on the NFIP, saddling the program with a $23 billion debt load,” the organization said.
