These billions and billions of dollars Congress pumps in to the program come directly out of the US Treasury. That's right! Every person in America that pays income tax SUBSIDIZES anyone that has so-called "flood insurance". Amazing, eh? A person living in the middle of the desert or anywhere else that will never flood pays for claims for lows cost "insurance" for someone else who builds on the beach or some other floodway. Which, of course, is the only way a lender would lend someone money to build a house, say, in New Orleans in a flood prone area. For example.
It's a joke! The American taxpayers are suckers! They are paying for "insurance claims" for people that build in stupid locations. And now, with Obamacare we will be paying for claims others have when those people pay little or nothing in to the premium pool and/or have "pre-existing" conditions that make it almost 100% certain they will have a claim. Just like the so-called "flood insurance" Obamacare is NOT insurance!
What Obamacare is, just like Federal Flood Insurance is robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is wrong headed, stiupid and very expensive.
We are governed by people that cannot do simple math. They have no respect for a dollar!
Yours is a good point, and thus the annual push to sign up subscribers. they need to expand the risk pool to include a LOT of people who have no realistic chance of ever experiencing a catastrophic flood.
Unfortunately (for FEMA), most people look around their homes, and realize that they live on a hill, not in a flood plain, and decide they could spend that money better elsewhere. The answer of course is to FORCE them to buy coverage, heedless of whether they want or need it.
Wait. That sounds familiar. Force them to buy coverage whether or not they want or need it... Where did I just hear that? Don’t help me, I’ll think of it...
Problem is - since there is Federal Flood Insurance, no private insurance company offers separate flood policies. Homeowners insurance does not cover rising water claims, only FEMA Flood Insurance does.
Our house is not in the 150yr flood plain nor on a coastline, but last April it rained 12 inches in one hour flooding our neighborhood. The $300/year flood policy I purchased for piece of mind was the best $300 I ever spent. We were not required to have flood insurance, but we bought it anyway.
I hope you never have to experience standing in ankle deep water in the middle of your living room like I did. The home repair for our house built in such a “stupid” location (middle of Houston) ran upwards of $70K.
I wish the flood policy was through a private insurer. Dealing with FEMA for a flood claim is quite the ordeal.
The .gov is the only option for flood insurance - soon to be the same as health unfortunately.