Attempts to reform flood insurance in America are having serious repercussions. Homebuyers, sellers and others across the country are being slammed with soaring increases in the cost of flood insurance.
The instability follows bi-partisan Congressional attempts to reform a widely-criticized federal flood insurance program that’s in debt by around $26-billion.
The costs and uncertainty is having a sometimes powerful impact locally. In Lansing for example, some 2,500 homes and 200 businesses lay in flood plains. Some homeowners in those areas are being forced out of their homes due to the added costs.
Ronda Oberlin, an Emergency Management Specialist for the city of Lansing and a certified flood plain manager, has been following this story. Oberlin says says the National Flood Insurance Program was intended to shift the cost from taxpayers to those who live in the flood plain, but it hasn't worked. It also hasn't discouraged development.