Rick Scott, Byron Donalds pursue tax breaks for flood insurance

New bicameral legislation from two Florida Republicans would give a break to homeowners chafing under insurance costs.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds are introducing legislation (S.4143) to amend the tax code to provide an above-the-line deduction for flood insurance premiums.

Scott calls he measure a “commonsense bill to ensure Floridians can maintain coverage without breaking the bank.”

The measure emerges as coverage for water damage goes from “nice to have” to must have in the Sunshine State and elsewhere amid ever more powerful storm systems. Flood insurance costs have also increased in the state amid recent revisions to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) formula to make coverage more “actuarially sound.”

“As I travel around Florida, I am consistently hearing about how the broken (National Flood Insurance Program) and its rising costs are hurting Floridians. I am fighting tooth and nail in Washington to fix it,” Scott said.

“While we continue to work on permanent solutions to the problems plaguing the NFIP, we need to make sure hardworking folks have access to affordable coverage. That’s why I am introducing and will be fighting to pass legislation that provides a non-refundable tax break to families who purchase flood insurance coverage either through the private market or the NFIP.”

“Over recent years, residents of Southwest Florida and the Sunshine State have been faced with an exponential rise in flood insurance costs,” Donalds added. “This unsustainable trend is severely impacting hardworking Florida families and it is critical that this problem is immediately addressed.”

FEMA has defended the new risk rating formula after the first update in half a century, as an equity measure to drive “generational change” and build “resilience.”

“The new pricing methodology is the right thing to do. It mitigates risk, delivers equitable rates and advances the Agency’s goal to reduce suffering after flooding disasters,” said David Maurstad, senior executive of FEMA’s NFIP, in 2021.

“Equity in Action is the generational change we need to spur action now in the face of changing climate conditions, build individual and community resilience, and deliver on the (Joe) Biden Administration’s priority of providing equitable programs for all.”