“Each month that Risk Rating 2.0 continues unchecked, more families are forced to abandon their insurance coverage, neighborhoods face economic strain, and entire communities risk collapse after the next disaster.”
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today joined Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and seven Republican colleagues in sending a letter to acting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator David Richardson urging the agency to end the Biden administration’s failed Risk Rating 2.0 program.
Under Risk Rating 2.0, an estimated 80 percent of Louisiana National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policyholders experienced monthly flood insurance premium increases in 2025.
“Since the Biden Administration’s rollout of Risk Rating 2.0, premiums under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) increased in every state. By FEMA’s own estimates, 77 percent of all NFIP policies now pay more than under the old system,” the senators wrote.
“The lack of transparency surrounding Risk Rating 2.0 is beyond troubling. FEMA has never allowed for meaningful public comment nor has it published the underlying data or assumptions used to justify the steep premium increases and refuses to disclose its actuarial model. Without transparency, communities cannot plan mitigation projects, lenders cannot accurately underwrite mortgages, and citizens cannot appeal punitive rate increases. Worse still, rising costs encourage policy lapses—shifting risk back to taxpayers when disasters strike,” they continued.
“Each month that Risk Rating 2.0 continues unchecked, more families are forced to abandon their insurance coverage, neighborhoods face economic strain, and entire communities risk collapse after the next disaster,” the lawmakers added.
Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) also joined the letter.
Background:
- In 2023, Kennedy introduced the Risk Rating 2.0 Transparency Act, which would require FEMA to publish an explanation of how the agency is determining flood insurance prices under Risk Rating 2.0.
- In 2023, Kennedy also introduced the Flood Insurance Affordability Act, which would cap annual flood insurance premium increases.
- In 2024, Kennedy spoke in the Senate Banking Committee about FEMA’s dishonesty concerning the Risk Rating 2.0 program, noting that the agency “said a million people of the 5 million people [who hold NFIP policies] will see their rates go down. I haven’t talked to a single person who’s seen their rates go down.”
The full letter is available here.