Members of the PIA of Kentucky met last week with members of their Congressional delegation on a number of issues related to the reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

PIA of Kentucky members urged their policymakers to pass a long-term reauthorization of the NFIP that includes necessary reforms, as set forth in PIA’s current Issues of Focus. Agents emphasized that any long-term reauthorization of the NFIP must maintain the current Write Your Own (WYO) reimbursement rate and cautioned that reducing the rate would likely prompt substantial cuts to NFIP agent commissions. PIA has strongly opposed past efforts to reduce the reimbursement rate and will continue to do so.

In addition, PIA of Kentucky updated congressional offices on regulatory issues PIA is closely engaging with, and told policymakers of their experience with the new NFIP rating system, Risk Rating 2.0. PIA supports RR 2.0 because it assigns premium rates to individual properties using substantially more granular data than the legacy system. The new factors align an individual property’s rate more closely with its actual level of flood risk. That said, PIA recognizes the need for improved transparency measures from FEMA so that agents can successfully explain changes brought on by RR 2.0 to policyholders.

The meetings last week were part of PIA’s 2022 series of year-round, state-specific advocacy events.