The NationalAssociation of Mutual Insurance Companies is calling on theSenate to resist calls to delay or rescind flood insurance rate increases now being implemented through a2012 law.

The NAMIC letter was sent to the Senate legislative leadershipWednesday apparently out of concern that some members of the Senatewould try to insert such language in the must-pass legislation thatmoved through Congress yesterday that raised the debt ceiling andended the federal government shutdown.

While the bill did include several provisions not directlyrelated to the two critical issues, provisions touching on theflood insurance rate hikes were not included.

However, the letter was likely sent to the Senate because makingchanges to the mandated rate hikes has attracted strong support inthe Senate. For example, 24 senators signed on to a letter lastweek asking Congress to delay the rate hikes pending completion ofaffordability studies and appeals of new flood maps that are beingused to determine individual increases or decreases in flood rateslevied by the National Flood Insurance Program.

And, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a member of the SenateDemocratic leadership, has told his constituents that he would seekchanges to the mandated rate hikes after the debt/shutdown criseswere resolved.

In the letter, a NAMIC official said that, “The NFIP must chargerates that reflect the true cost of providing flood insurancecoverage, and the government should not continue to mask the risksof living in a flood-prone area by delaying these much-neededreforms.”

The letter was signed by Jimi Grande, NAMIC senior vicepresident, federal and political affairs. He said in the letterthat prior to the passage of the Biggert-Waters Act of 2012, theNFIP's “unsustainable rates all but ensured the program wouldremain in debt to the Treasury and would be incapable of meetingits obligations to policyholders after a major flood.”

In the letter, Grande said NAMIC recognizes the need in somecases for assistance, which could be provided through directassistance rather than by weakening the NFIP through suppressedflood insurance rates. He also emphasized the need to addressnatural catastrophes like flooding in a proactive manner,highlighting the need for better mitigation practices by both thepublic and private sectors.

“NAMIC continues to support providingassistance on a means-tested basis for those who truly cannotafford the increased rates, and we are also actively engaged inefforts to reduce the threat of flooding by promoting andincentivizing pre-disaster mitigation,” Grande said in theletter.

“However, we remain in full support of reforms to the NFIP madeby the Biggert-Waters Act and oppose any efforts to delay orrollback pieces of the legislation,” Grande said.

Currently, roll-back efforts are on three tracks. There is thestrong support in the Senate for legislation delaying the ratehikes; there is pending legislation passed by the full House andthe Senate Appropriations Committee that would delay at least forone year some of the rate hikes; and a lawsuit filed in FederalDistrict Court in Gulfport, Miss., that seeks an injunction barringthe rate hikes pending completion of certain studies.

The suit was filed by the Mississippi insurance commission inearly October. A hearing on the issue is scheduled for Oct. 28.Currently, Florida and Louisiana have indicated that they wouldfile friend of the court briefs supporting the lawsuit.