NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Rising insurance premiums are frustrating a growing number of Louisiana homeowners.

“My property insurance went up, and my flood insurance,” resident Tara Mesley said. “For me, I just think it’s an imbalance. Higher insurance rates means sometimes more mortgage every month. … If you don’t have the funds, how are you supposed to pay an extra $2,000, $3,000 a year for insurance?”

At the state capitol in Baton Rouge, lawmakers are considering legislation they hope will bring down the cost of property insurance, and they are now honing in on the cost of flood insurance.

Rep. Jerome “Zee” Zeringue (R-Houma) says flood insurance is becoming too expensive.

“In terms of the impacts associated with the people who not only live just on the coast throughout Louisiana, (rising rates) are going to cause a significant real estate issue,” he said. “Our ability to own homes, sell homes and afford insurance into the future.”

Zeringue is sponsoring a measure that calls on Attorney General Jeff Landry to seek legal relief from FEMA over its new pricing methodology for flood insurance, called Risk Rating 2.0. It sailed out of the House Insurance Committee on Tuesday (May 2) and will be considered by the full House of Representatives.

Landry said in a statement that he supports the lawmakers’ request.

“I created our Solicitor General’s office to deal with federalism issues just like this,” Landry said. “Time and time again, Liz Murrill and I have fought and won against the government in federal court. After listening to constituents, collecting evidence and determining the viability of litigation, we believe their formula is arbitrary and capricious.

“FEMA has ignored Congress and the states’ demands for transparency for too long, and our citizens deserve better from the feds.”

Mesley says her flood insurance has risen significantly. She says she was paying a few hundred dollars and now it is over $1,000.

“I believe it’s like $1,300, $1,400 a year now,” Mesley said.

In Washington D.C., flood insurance costs prompted House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) of Metairie, Rep. Troy Carter (D-Louisiana) of New Orleans and 49 other members of the House of Representatives to write a letter to FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, demanding more transparency over how new flood risk ratings were calculated.

“The new premium calculations are purportedly based on risk calculations,” the letter says. “However, those affected by the new rates report little-to-no transparency into the input data utilized by FEMA for setting rating factors and premiums.”

The congressmen also asked FEMA to provide documents related to the calculation of risk ratings and information related to FEMA’s consultation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop its definition of leveed areas, the probability of levees being overtopped and of the failure of levees prior to overtopping. They also request information on FEMA’s catastrophic risk modeling and a briefing for the members of Congress who signed the letter.

Insurance costs also are impacting renters, who say landlords are increasing rents because they must pay more for insurance.

Mesley said she thinks relief is needed soon, or residents will “lose their homes, sell their homes and … just retreat from Louisiana.”

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline.

Copyright 2023 WVUE. All rights reserved.