August 27, 2010
By: Jana Bell
A government program that provides flood coverage to homeowners in vulnerable regions of the country is deeply in the red, according to a report in USA Today. This is due, in part, to the number of overpaid claims made on the National Flood Insurance Program, the newspaper says.
One Mississippi home, with a listed value of a little less than $70,000, received payments from the NFIP totaling $663,000, according to USA Today. Nearly 20,000 properties covered by the program have received more money in insurance claims than they are worth, the paper adds.
Congressman Earl Blumenauer of Oregon told USA Today that the problem "is putting the federal taxpayer on the hook for tens of billions of dollars. And we are going to see in the next decade, if we are not able to make more concerted progress, a continued string of unpleasant stories about property loss, about lives lost."
Other federal agencies have been generous in their financial assistance to flood victims, as well: The governor of Iowa, Chet Culver, announced Thursday that the Department of Housing and Urban Development had provided more than $84 million for flood relief in that state.
Related Home Insurance Articles:
- NOAA predicts near-normal Eastern Pacific hurricane season May 25, 2012
- Safety officials call attention to home sprinkler system regulations May 24, 2012
- Thousands of St. Louis insurance claims cite recent hail damage May 22, 2012
- Tropical Storm Alberto changes course away from Carolinas May 21, 2012
- California tops the nation in dog bite claims May 17, 2012
