Vermont Flood Insurance Customers Could See Rate Hikes

Some of Vermont’s estimated 3,700 flood insurance customers could see their premiums increase by up to 20 percent.

Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the National Flood Insurance Program has been operating at a loss and many of the changes approved by Congress are designed to end those deficits.

Vermont Public Radio reports that as a result, property owners could see bigger increases in their flood insurance premiums. The legislation sets a cap on annual premium increases from 10 percent to 20 percent and adds a minimum deductible for claims.

Another provision of the revamped flood insurance program phases out subsidies for properties that have been flooded and rebuilt more than once and have received multiple flood insurance payouts. There are between 50 and 60 such properties in Vermont.