July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
It's past time for a brand new approach (04/24/06)
Editorial
It should come as no surprise to anyone that the nation’s federal flood insurance program is hemorrhaging.
After a particularly rough hurricane season, the system is bleeding cash.
But when Congress takes up the chore of trying to fix the program, it needs to give it more than just a band-aid. The whole system needs an overhaul.
As originally proposed, the idea of federal flood insurance was to put the risk onto homeowners who built on land likely to flood. It was supposed to function like a real insurance company.
Instead, the program actually spurred development in areas where the risk of flooding was greater, especially along coastal areas. Where once it would have been impossible or cost-prohibitive to get insurance, the federal flood insurance program now made it affordable.
Drive along the coast of the Carolinas and you’ll see the result: A housing boom on beachfront land that — sooner or later — will be smacked by hurricanes.
Meanwhile, those of us inland are helping to subsidize the system, being forced to pay for federal flood insurance when the likelihood of a payout is virtually non-existent.
In Portland, for instance, a chunk of the town has been designated as being within the 100-year flood zone. Anyone with a mortgage from a commercial bank within that section of town has to pay for flood insurance.
But the most typical damage in any Jay County flood comes when basements flood, either through their foundations or when combination sewer lines back up during periods of high rainfall.
And those losses aren’t covered by flood insurance.
For Portland flood insurance purchasers to collect, the Salamonie River would actually have to come over its banks and flood their homes.
Even then, it would only cover the damage actually caused by the river, not by backed up drainage systems.
By any standard, the current system is a failure.
It’s led to over-building in fragile coastal areas, and it’s unduly burdened Midwesterners.
It’s time for a whole new approach. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
After a particularly rough hurricane season, the system is bleeding cash.
But when Congress takes up the chore of trying to fix the program, it needs to give it more than just a band-aid. The whole system needs an overhaul.
As originally proposed, the idea of federal flood insurance was to put the risk onto homeowners who built on land likely to flood. It was supposed to function like a real insurance company.
Instead, the program actually spurred development in areas where the risk of flooding was greater, especially along coastal areas. Where once it would have been impossible or cost-prohibitive to get insurance, the federal flood insurance program now made it affordable.
Drive along the coast of the Carolinas and you’ll see the result: A housing boom on beachfront land that — sooner or later — will be smacked by hurricanes.
Meanwhile, those of us inland are helping to subsidize the system, being forced to pay for federal flood insurance when the likelihood of a payout is virtually non-existent.
In Portland, for instance, a chunk of the town has been designated as being within the 100-year flood zone. Anyone with a mortgage from a commercial bank within that section of town has to pay for flood insurance.
But the most typical damage in any Jay County flood comes when basements flood, either through their foundations or when combination sewer lines back up during periods of high rainfall.
And those losses aren’t covered by flood insurance.
For Portland flood insurance purchasers to collect, the Salamonie River would actually have to come over its banks and flood their homes.
Even then, it would only cover the damage actually caused by the river, not by backed up drainage systems.
By any standard, the current system is a failure.
It’s led to over-building in fragile coastal areas, and it’s unduly burdened Midwesterners.
It’s time for a whole new approach. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
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