In a letter on Monday, June 24, 2013 to the Department of Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO), NAR stated that there are serious flaws in the current market for disaster insurance, especially related to the affordability and availability of these insurance products. Under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, the FIO was charged with developing a report to Congress on the market related to natural disaster insurance. NAR believes that the private insurance market has failed to ensure access to affordable property insurance for hurricanes, earthquakes and other major catastrophes, including floods. As a result, federal disaster relief – all at taxpayer expense – has become the default method for financing community and home rebuilding after the fact, when the cost has become many times what it would have otherwise been. NAR will continue to work to ensure that comprehensive property insurance is available to all property owners.
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