Nebraska Congressman Mike Flood sits down with KETV to talk about the spike in home insurance rates
Updated: 9:21 AM CDT Aug 19, 2024
LOOKING TOO BAD OUT THERE. WELL, NEBRASKA HAS THE HIGHEST HOME INSURANCE PREMIUM RATE IN THE COUNTRY, AND WE’RE SPEAKING WITH CONGRESSMAN MIKE FLOOD ABOUT THAT ISSUE AND WHAT HE’S DOING TO SOLVE IT. KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S HOOKER MELISSA FRY SITS DOWN WITH THE REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER. CONGRESSMAN FLOOD, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. OF COURSE, ON RECESS RIGHT NOW, BACK IN NEBRASKA. WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU’RE TALKING TO CONSTITUENTS ABOUT? WELL, AS I’VE BEEN TRAVELING AROUND THE FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, LA VISTA PAPILLION BELLEVUE ALL THE STORM DAMAGE, PEOPLE ARE TALKING TO ME ABOUT THEIR HOME INSURANCE RATES. NEBRASKA HAS THE HIGHEST HOME INSURANCE PREMIUM RATE IN THE COUNTRY. ALMOST 3000 MORE THAN THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER IN AMERICA. RIGHT HERE IN THE STATE OF NEBRASKA. AND WHAT’S BEHIND IT? HAIL, HAIL, SEVERE WEATHER AND NONE OF THESE PREMIUM INCREASES THAT PEOPLE ARE DEALING WITH HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE STORMS THAT WE’VE RECENTLY HAD. SO YOU CAN EXPECT THAT TO GO UP AGAIN NEXT YEAR. AND IT’S A12 PUNCH WITH PROPERTY TAXES. PEOPLE ARE PAYING HIGH PROPERTY INTEREST RATES ARE HIGHER. AND NOW HOME PREMIUMS HAVE GONE UP 60% IN ONE YEAR. JUST IN NEBRASKA. AND LIKE YOU SAID, THIS ISN’T EVEN COUNTING THE TORNADOES. ON APRIL 26TH, THE WINDSTORM, ALL THE DAMAGE FROM JULY 31ST, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALKING ABOUT THIS EXTREME SEVERE WEATHER SEASON AND OPPD SAYING THIS IS THE MOST DAMAGE THEY’VE SEEN ON RECORD. WELL, THE AVERAGE NEBRASKA HOUSEHOLD HAS ABOUT $95,000 IN INCOME, RIGHT NOW. HOME INSURANCE PREMIUMS ARE 6% OF THE GROSS INCOME OF THE AVERAGE NEBRASKA FAMILY. THAT’S UNSUSTAINABLE. THAT’S RIGHT UP THERE WITH PROPERTY TAXES. THAT’S GOING TO MAKE IT EVEN HARDER FOR PEOPLE TO GET INTO A HOUSE. AND ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD SAY IF IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY, CHECK AND SEE WHAT’S HAPPENED TO YOUR PREMIUM, BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES THE PREMIUM GOES RIGHT INTO YOUR HOME ESCROW AND IT’S AUTOMATICALLY TAKEN OUT OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. SO YOU COULD WAKE UP ON OCTOBER 1ST AND HAVE AN ADDITIONAL $400 A MONTH COMING OUT, OR $500 A MONTH COMING OUT JUST TO PAY THESE PREMIUMS. THAT’S A LOT OF MONEY. WOW. SO YOU’RE DEVISING A TEAM. YOU’RE GOING TO BE TALKING TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES ABOUT WHAT CAN WE DO RIGHT? THE FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO AS NEBRASKANS IS WE HAVE TO CONTROL THE RISK. WE NEED PEOPLE TO PUT IMPACT RESISTANT ROOFS ON THEIR HOMES. WE CAN’T AFFORD TO BE REPLACING ALL OF THESE ROOFS ALL THE TIME BECAUSE LOOK WHAT IT’S DONE TO OUR PREMIUMS. AND WITH MORE SEVERE WEATHER THIS YEAR, IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. SO I WANT TO WORK WITH MY PARTNERS IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE TO GET A TAX CREDIT TO PAY THAT DIFFERENCE. IT’S ABOUT 30% MORE TO PUT AN IMPACT RESISTANT ROOF ON YOUR HOME. BUT IF WE HAD A TAX CREDIT THAT PAID FOR THAT AND WE COULD REDUCE THE RISK STATEWIDE, WE CAN BRING THOSE PREMIUMS DOWN. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT’S GOING TO TAKE US A WHILE TO GET OUT OF BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE DAMAGE AND THE PREMIUMS. NOW WE’RE THE TOP IN THE COUNTRY. THAT’S GOING TO BE HARD TO COME BACK FROM WRAPPING UP. NOW WORKING WITH THE STATE LEGISLATURE. BUT ALSO FROM A CONGRESSIONAL LEVEL, LOOKING AT THINGS WE CAN DO. I’M ON THE HOUSING SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE, AND WE ARE GOING TO WORK TO SEE IF WE CAN’T RE DOMESTICATE SOME OF THOSE FOREIGN REINSURANCE COMPANIES BACK INTO THE UNITED STATES TO BRING DOWN PREMIUMS, AND WE’RE GOING TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE TO SAY, TELL US WHY WE’VE SEEN A 60% INCREASE IN ONE STATE HAIL HAPPENS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. TORNADOES HAPPEN DOWN IN OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS AND ARKANSAS. WHY ARE WE SO MUCH HIGHER THAN THE REST OF THE NATION? AND THAT’S WHAT I INTEND TO TAKE TO CONGRESS. ALL RIGHT.
Nebraska Congressman Mike Flood sits down with KETV to talk about the spike in home insurance rates
Updated: 9:21 AM CDT Aug 19, 2024
Rep. Mike Flood stopped by KETV NewsWatch 7 for a one-on-one interview.KETV’s Melissa Fry asked him about the rising home insurance rates and the impact of recent disasters in the metro. “One of the challenges we have with insurance is you have the company you deal with, and they spread that risk to re-insurers at risk and these re-insurers decided we aren’t going to continue taking these losses, so they really upped the price and a lot of those are located in foreign countries. So, what I want to do in Congress is figure out how do we re-domesticate some of those foreign re-insurers and bring them back to U.S. soil and see if we can’t get more competitive rates,” Flood said.Nebraska has the highest home insurance premium rate in the country. “We need to turn to our mutual insurance companies, these are owned by policyholders, we need to work with them to make sure we’re controlling the risk and make sure we’re doing everything possible to bring down those premiums,” Flood said.Click the video above to watch the whole one-on-one interview with Flood.Click here for the latest headlines from KETV NewsWatch 7
Rep. Mike Flood stopped by KETV NewsWatch 7 for a one-on-one interview.
KETV’s Melissa Fry asked him about the rising home insurance rates and the impact of recent disasters in the metro.
“One of the challenges we have with insurance is you have the company you deal with, and they spread that risk to re-insurers at risk and these re-insurers decided we aren’t going to continue taking these losses, so they really upped the price and a lot of those are located in foreign countries. So, what I want to do in Congress is figure out how do we re-domesticate some of those foreign re-insurers and bring them back to U.S. soil and see if we can’t get more competitive rates,” Flood said.
Nebraska has the highest home insurance premium rate in the country.
“We need to turn to our mutual insurance companies, these are owned by policyholders, we need to work with them to make sure we’re controlling the risk and make sure we’re doing everything possible to bring down those premiums,” Flood said.
Click the video above to watch the whole one-on-one interview with Flood.
