A Bargain in Flood Insurance

The federal government has made an offer to Los Angeles County residents that should not be refused--a deeply discounted price on flood insurance in at-risk areas.

It’s well known that certain Southern California areas are at higher risk of flooding. In L.A. County, for example, parts of Long Beach, Lynwood and Montebello have been on the federal government’s special flood hazard area maps since the early 1980s. In Orange County, the vital but unfinished Santa Ana River Flood Control Project is designed to protect what has long been considered one of the most vulnerable flood plains west of the Mississippi River.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has more recently expanded its risk maps to add parts of Bellflower, Carson, Compton, Downey, Gardena, Lakewood, Paramount, Pico Rivera and South Gate, communities that are already part of Los Angeles County’s flood risk assessment. The federal maps are elements in the inexact science of predicting the extent of a disastrous flood that would occur, statistically, only every 100 years. The risk has spread because growth and development have reduced the amount of open ground that can absorb heavy rainfall.

The government has long offered flood insurance policies, which private companies do not sell as part of homeowner coverage. Now, with the winter storm risk high, federal officials have reduced the cost of a policy from an average of $1,025 for $100,000 worth of coverage to just $281 if purchased before July 6 ($590 thereafter). Many poor residents of risk zones, particularly those who live in mobile homes, would require much less than $100,000 in coverage.

The push is part of the federal government’s plan to create more disaster-resistant communities. An incentive to buyers is that a homeowner is now allowed just one instance of full federal emergency flood disaster relief. Failure to purchase flood insurance after that means severe eligibility limits in future floods.

But there’s been a problem in persuading the many poor people in at-risk areas to buy flood insurance: Their mind-set often is one of weary resignation to the danger. Local officials could provide more of a drumbeat.

Rep. Stephen Horn (R-Long Beach) is doing the right thing in making flood insurance a prominent issue in his district. It’s a refrain that other elected officials and community leaders ought to join. The time to think about financial protection is now, not after the next flood sweeps over communities.

To Take Action: To inquire about flood insurance if you live in a designated flood zone, call the FEMA flood hotline, (800) 427-4661, or the National Flood Insurance Program, (888) CALLFLOOD.