Lousiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon used an opportunityto meet with President Obama to present him with a letter askinghim to refrain from raising flood insurance rates forresidents of his state.

The contents of the letter were not available, but it waswritten by Michael Hecht, president and CEO of Greater New Orleans,Inc. Also signing on were the National Association of Homebuildersand the National Association of Realtors. NAFCUalso has spoken out in favor of holding off on the FEMA ratehikes.

Donelon, president of the National Association of InsuranceCommissioners, met with Obama on Nov. 20 along with NAIC CEO BenNelson, Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas B. Leonardi andNorth Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin to primarilyaddress issues with the Affordable Care Act.

Donelon says he presented three to four pages ofdocumentation prepared by the three groups about the “unintendedconsequences the rate increases will have on our economy,” andasking the president for “forbearance.” The documents weredelivered ”on behalf of Louisiana first, and two dozen otherstates to a lesser degree,” the commissioner said duringa conference call with reporters after the meeting.

“We have a working coast, not second or vacation homes,” Donelonsaid. “This is important for Louisiana as well as the rest of thecountry. We need forbearance from the rate increases mandated bythe 2012 law,” he said.

The president agreed to read the letter, but did not make acommitment to act on it, Donelon added.

Asked why Louisiana, where 49% of flood insurance policies aresubsidized, wanted special treatment whileit has declined to open its own insurance exchange andwill not accept the additional Medicaid funds states can accessthrough a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable CareAct, Donelon acknowledged that Louisiana is the state that “mostbenefits” from subsidized flood insurance rates.

GNO and the associations of homebuilders and real estate agentspreviously outlined their problems with the 2012 Biggert-Waters Actat a hearing held Tuesday by a House Financial Services Committeesubcommittee. Hecht testified that imposing the ratehikes would be “economically unwise and morally unjust.”

Meanwhile, 15 members of the Senate led by MaryLandrieu (D-La.) introduced a bill as an amendment to the defensereauthorization act now on the Senate floor. The bill would delaythe rate increases mandated by the 2012 Biggert-Waters Act for aslong as four years in some cases, its supporters estimate.