Floodplain insurance changes outlined for Rotary members

In his role as floodplain administrator for the city of Rayne, Building Inspector Mark Daigle discussed the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) mandated by mortgage lenders for properties located in a FEMA designated floodplain area.
The flood insurance program is subsidized by the federal government to reduce the impact on private and public structures.
Daigle reported the city recently completed an audit, required every five years, of its floodplain program.
After the extensive review, Daigle reported the city secured a 9 rating, which translates into a five percent discount for property owners on their flood insurance coverage.
The ever increasing standards of the insurance program, Daigle said, are based on FEMA’s goal of educating people on mitigation effort to building homes and businesses “higher and stronger” to lessened property losses.
To comply with those increased standards, Daigle noted a floodplain webpage will be added to the city’s website.
Daigle noted Acadia Parish could be considered “an in-between parish” when comparing the flooding threat faced by coastal parishes. He mentioned the impact of a heavy rainfall backing up area waterways and creating flooding conditions.
To bolster the national flood insurance program, Daigle noted a $25 surcharge will be added to flood insurance premiums for private homeowners. In past years, he explained, property owners were paying only 20 percent of the actual cost of flood coverage.
Daigle indicated that within five years property owners would be paying 100 percent of the insurance costs.
He encouraged city residents who have questions or concerns about flood insurance coverage to contact his office.
Daigle also commended the digital maps produced by the Acadia Parish Assessor’s Office which similar to Google mapping, can provide users street and floodplain overviews of their property.