flood insurance. He promised he’s doing everything in his
power to convince his fellow members of Congress that
this program is vital to the Southwest Florida life – and the
economy.
“Cost and availability of flood insurance impacts home
and business owners across our district,” Rooney says. “It
also directly affects the livelihoods of thousands of Real
Estate and Insurance professionals in Southwest Florida and
throughout our state. We need a program that works for
Florida. We have been a ‘donor state’ for decades, paying
27% of the NFIP’s annual premiums while only accounting
for 7.3% of the dollars paid in claims since 1978; and that
the counties of Collier and Lee have paid 4.8% of the
premiums but involved only 0.18% of the claims over that
same period.
“With the NFIP losing $1.5 billion a year, changes are
necessary, however we must ensure that fair and affordable
insurance options for Southwest Florida remain in place.
I am encouraged that our delegation is working towards
bipartisan solutions to resolve the mapping, mitigation, and
underwriting issues related to the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP), and I am confident that grandfathering of
existing properties and a federally funded backstop for any
private insurance options are key elements that are currently
being included in all proposals being brought forward in
Congress.”
(Above) BLAINE ELMER,
Association Board of Director, RPAC chairperson
is the Federal Political Coordinator assigned by
NAR for Congressman Francis Rooney
CALL TO ACTION
The reauthorization of the NFIP is vital to Southwest Florida,
and YOU can help. NAR has issued a Call to Action to
urge Congress to pass H.R. 2874, “The 21st Century NFIP
Reform Package,” as soon as possible. If the NFIP lapses,
more than 40,000 real estate transactions per month will
be in jeopardy. Con gress needs to know that a long-term
reauthorization is critical to our livelihoods. There is much
more to the issue, and it’s easy to access through NAR’s
Realtor® Action Center website – www.realtoractioncenter.
com. While you’re there, complete the Call to Action by
sending Congress a letter. It takes 30 seconds to fill out the
form and send it, and that’s it – you’ve made your voice
heard.
DID YOU KNOW?
When there are important issues and NAR needs your help,
you can get alerts straight to your phone. Sign up for the
Realtor® Party Mobile Alerts and they’ll send you a text
when something like this Call to Action is launched. Signing
up is easy – just text REALTOR to 30644.
RPCRA.ORG | SEPT/OCT 2017
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