Senators Urge FEMA to Halt Risk Rating 2.0 Flood Insurance Premium Increases

Mississippi Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, alongside several colleagues, have called for a halt to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Risk Rating 2.0 flood insurance premium increases. This new policy, introduced under the Biden administration, has triggered significant premium hikes across the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), leading to widespread policy cancellations.

The lawmakers criticize the lack of transparency in FEMA's pricing methodology, highlighting the absence of public comment opportunities and withheld actuarial data, which hampers community planning, mortgage underwriting, and policyholder appeals against rate increases.

According to FEMA estimates, 77 percent of NFIP policyholders now face higher premiums due to Risk Rating 2.0, with an annual cap of 18 percent increases until full risk cost alignment is achieved. The impacts are disproportionately felt in Republican-led states such as Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, and West Virginia, particularly among rural and low-income homeowners and high-risk coastal regions. Elevated premiums threaten homeownership stability, suppress property tax revenues, and may ultimately increase federal disaster relief expenses when uninsured homeowners cannot recover from floods. The senators' letter urges FEMA to prioritize transparency, reconsider premium adjustments, and act promptly to protect vulnerable communities and uphold the NFIP's Congressional mandate.