Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Bay State swamped with rising flood insurance premiums - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News

Florida is not alone. Check out this article about flood insurance premium increases in Massachusetts. Click title for link. As we have noted before, it is due to the following:
Until last year the 45-year-old program offered subsidized insurance for owners of at-risk properties. But a string of losses from major storms such as Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Katrina drove the program into a $25 billion deficit.
In response, Congress passed the 2012 Biggert-Waters Act, which requires the program to bring rates up to more realistically reflect risk. It also requires FEMA to remap flood plains to account for rising sea levels and an increase in severe storms.
Some of those increases, which began Oct. 1, are having a profound effect on real estate.