ecoRI News — Some Rhode Island Flood Insurance Rates About to Skyrocket

Most Rhode Island homeowners will see an increase of about $10 a month next year on their flood insurance premiums. (FEMA/ASFPM Flood Science Center)

Oct 22, 2021

By Roger Warburton / ecoRI News Staff

For Rhode Islanders, an increase in flood insurance rates is coming, perhaps as soon as next year. And, perhaps surprisingly, to inland property owners as well as those along the coast.

“It doesn’t matter if you believe in climate change; your insurance company does,” Nick VinZant, a senior research analyst for QuoteWizard, a subsidiary of an online mortgage company, recently told The Washington Post.

For the first time, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is about to incorporate climate risk into the cost of flood insurance. The impact will be a dramatic increase in the cost of flood insurance. In Rhode Island, many policyholders will see their premiums go up and continue to increase by as much as 18 percent annually for the next 20 years.

At that rate, a flood policy that costs $1,000 today could cost $5,230 in 10 years and an astonishing $27,400 in two decades.

The new assessment, called Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action, will more accurately reflect the threat of flooding in a changing climate, according to federal officials.

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