National Flood Insurance Act of 1968
The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is a federal law in the United States that was enacted as Title XIII of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson that led to the creation of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).[1][2]
Origin of the act[edit]
The act was motivated by a long history of property damage and loss of life due to flooding.[3] The legislation was finally promulgated because of the recent flood loss sustained in Florida and Louisiana following the destruction caused by the Hurricane Betsy flood surge in 1965.[1]
Criticism[edit]
According to critics of the program, the government's subsidized insurance plan "encouraged building, and rebuilding, in vulnerable coastal areas and floodplains."[7] Stephen Ellis, of the group Taxpayers for Common Sense, points to "properties that flooded 17 or 18 times that were still covered under the federal insurance program" without premiums going up.[7]