MELANCON CO-SPONSORS RETROACTIVE FLOOD INSURANCE BILL

U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon of Louisiana said he will co-sponsor Rep. Gene Taylor’s legislation allowing home and business owners without flood insurance when Hurricane Katrina struck to receive compensation retroactively through the National Flood Insurance Program.

Taylor, D-Miss., discussed the proposal at a town hall meeting in Gautier, Miss.

According to the Associated Press, Melancon said in a news release he would help push the legislation.

As explained by Melancon, the bill would allow property owners who did not live in floodplains but were devastated by the hurricanes to be covered under the National Flood Insurance Program. They would have to pay the equivalent of 10 years of NFIP premiums, with a 5 per cent penalty. Premiums would be set at a rate equal to the prevailing premium charged in the area prior to Hurricane Katrina.

The legislation also permits property owners to deduct premium payments and the penalty from the NFIP claim payment, Melancon said.

Bob Durrin, a NFIP specialist who has been on the Mississippi coast to provide claim statements for those who have flood insurance, said Taylor’s plan is “essentially retroactive coverage.”