Housing-News-Report-October-2018

HOUSINGNEWS REPORT

REAL ESTATE INSURANCE: FENDING OFF DISASTER IN A CHANGING WORLD

“Flood insurance traps homeowners in a situation no one wants to be in: forced to rebuild in a location that will inevitably flood again. It’s time to start helping people move to higher ground, rather than make them wait for the next flood,” said Rob Moore, a senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The NRDC wants to change “the mindset of ‘flood, rebuild, repeat,’ to buying out homeowners who no longer want to rebuild on a vulnerable property.”

Change, “over the past three decades approximately 1.3 million people have relocated through managed retreat, which pales in comparison to this century’s projected displacements.” “Local governments, not property insurers, make coastal land use decisions,” explained Michael Barry with the Insurance Information Institute. “It is a difficult issue for local elected officials to grapple with because residential and commercial development boost a local government’s tax base. At the same time, however, state and federal governments are often allocating monies to buy homes which are repeatedly flooded. These homes are often demolished to make way for passive parks. A few examples come immediately to mind: New York State’s purchase of Sandy-damaged properties in Staten Island and FEMA’s bid to do the same in Houston after Hurricane Harvey.”

At least some in Congress agree with the concept.

“We have these repetitive loss properties,” U.S. Rep Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, told CNBC. “So for example, we have one property outside of Baton Rouge that has a modest home worth about $60,000 that’s flooded over 40 times. The taxpayers have paid almost half a million dollars for it.” Buying vulnerable properties is a real option, what’s called “managed retreat.” According to Nature Climate

“State and federal governments are often allocating monies to buy homes which are repeatedly flooded. These homes are often demolished to make way for passive parks. A few examples come immediately to mind: New York State’s purchase of Sandy-damaged properties in Staten Island and FEMA’s bid to do the same in Houston after Hurricane Harvey.” MICHAEL BARRY HEAD OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS INSURANCE INFORMATION INSITUTE

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OCT 2018 | ATTOM DATA SOLUTIONS

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