Flood insurance

The National Flood Insurance Program, which covers damage in federally designated flood-prone regions, is in need of reform.

The program is meant to be self-sustaining by relying on premiums paid by homeowners who are required to have the insurance if they have a federally backed mortgage. But Hurricane Katrina, which required the government to borrow $17 billion to meet claims, and other polices have dealt a blow to the program, as outlined in a report by USA Today.

Contributing to the high costs has been the practice of homeowners repeatedly rebuilding in flooded areas. According to the article, the federal government has paid insurance claims totaling $633,000 on one Mississippi home that has been flooded 34 times since 1978. The home is valued at $69,900.

The examination of Federal Emergency Management Agency records found 19,000 homes and commercial buildings worth at least $25,000 have received insurance payments above their value. Yet a federal program to encourage homeowners to move or raise their homes has spent only about a third of the $310 million allocated under the 2004 law creating the assistance.

A federal mandate requiring owners to elevate homes if they receive insurance above 50 percent of a home's value is not being enforced by local officials.

Some property owners also benefit from discounted premiums called for by Congress to encourage participation by those who owned property before it was determined to be in a flood-prone area.

Changes are overdue. Property owners, not taxpayers, should be paying for the cost of the insurance.