WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Rick Scott and other politicians are urging FEMA to review its decision to end a 25% discount on flood insurance.
The county announced late last week that FEMA chose to eliminate the discount for unincorporated Lee County residents, along with residents of several cities and towns in the county.
In a letter from Sen. Rick Scott, Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. Byron Donalds and Rep. Greg Steube, the politicians are also urging FEMA to "honor the original discounts and meet with local leaders to remedy any issues and keep NFIP [National Flood Insurance Program’s] discounts in place."
FEMA claims a large amount of unpermitted work, a lack of documentation and a failure to properly monitor activity in special flood hazard areas since Hurricane Ian are some of the reasons why the discount is going away.
Fox 4 Team Coverage on Insurance Discount Debate:
March 29: Lee Co. leaders call 'late' flood insurance change 'devastating'
April 2: "We are going to fight:" Lee Co. leaders appeal lost flood insurance discount
April 3: 'PROOF': FEMA claims Lee County didn't comply; leaders reply with documents
"The retrograde of the NFIP premium discount is yet another unforeseen challenge for Lee County residents, who continue their fight to recover from Hurricane Ian," the letter said.
They said while they appreciated the agency's quick response, they are discouraged by the recent actions.
"FEMA’s recent decision to lower discounts and raise premiums for some NFIP policyholders in Lee County is liable to create yet another unacceptable rise in costs for Southwest Florida families and businesses still recovering from Hurricane Ian that is catastrophic for their financial stability," the letter said. "It is critical to the livelihoods of Florida families and businesses that FEMA does everything needed to work with local leaders to ensure further cost increases do not take effect."
County leaders have disputed FEMA's allegations.
“We thought we were complying with everything they were asking us to do,” said Lee County Board Chairman Mike Greenwell. “If that’s not the case, then why was there not more dialogue?”
Fort Myers and Sanibel are not impacted by the retrograde.
Dear Administrator Criswell:
We write regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) recent decision to retrograde Lee County, Florida’s National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) community premium discount pursuant to the Community Rating System (CRS), effective October 1, 2024. The retrograde of the NFIP premium discount is yet another unforeseen challenge for Lee County residents, who continue their fight to recover from Hurricane Ian.
In the wake of disaster recovery and skyrocketing inflation, Lee County residents now face even higher living costs as a result of this decision. We urge you to immediately conduct a thorough review of this decision, honor the original discounts and meet with local leaders to remedy any issues and keep NFIP discounts in place.
Since Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County and caused widespread devastation in Southwest Florida, we have fought to deliver relief to Florida families and businesses and ensure a rapid recovery from this deadly storm. While we appreciated FEMA’s quick response in the immediate aftermath of the storm, we are discouraged by recent actions from the agency.
FEMA’s recent decision to lower discounts and raise premiums for some NFIP policyholders in Lee County is liable to create yet another unacceptable rise in costs for Southwest Florida families and businesses still recovering from Hurricane Ian that is catastrophic for their financial stability. It is critical to the livelihoods of Florida families and businesses that FEMA does everything needed to work with local leaders to ensure further cost increases do not take effect.
We look forward to working with FEMA to maintain NFIP discounts in Lee County as we continue to fight against higher costs for Florida families.
