NAR Letter to House Financial Services Chairman, Hensarling Regarding NFIP Mitigation
Issue Date: April 25, 2017
On April 25, 2017 NAR sent a letter to House Financial Services Chair, Jeb Hensarling. NAR would like to work with the Chair to expand pre-flood mitigation efforts and authorize FEMA to procure the elevation data needed to calculate and disclose actuarial rates for pre-FIRM structures. REALTORS® support the recommendations of the Technical Mapping Advisory Council to move toward flood maps that incorporate building specific risk information so fewer property owners will have to provide elevation data. The burden should not be on homeowners to provide the data, especially when states like North Carolina and Minnesota demonstrate that it is possible to collect better quality data at lower cost using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology. Without this data, Congress will continue to debate flood insurance affordability measures without knowing the full scope of the problem or the size of a mitigation solution required.