Flood insurance bringing a deluge of complaints in Michigan

Todd Spangler, Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki And Kathleen Gray in the Detroit Free Press cover an issue that we'll be seeing more in the future: …Lake levels are down all over the Great Lakes region and premiums are up for the mandatory insurance for holders of federally backed mortgages in designated flood zones. But to many, flooding in southeastern Michigan is a distant memory, even as they watched fresh scenes last week of catastrophic flooding in Arkansas and Missouri.

With the Great Lakes at low levels, many Michiganders -- including U.S. Rep. Candice Miller -- are up in arms, saying they believe they're paying for billions of losses on the gulf coast and demanding an end to the National Flood Insurance Program. Don't count on it: The insurance industry won't take on the risks, and without the protection, many waterfront properties would be unmarketable.

And just because a flood hasn't happened in decades doesn't mean there is no risk. Chances of Great Lakes flooding may be slim in 2011, but that could change with a few years of heavy snow and rain in the lakes' vast drainage basin.

"This is cyclical. It will change," said Larry Larson, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers. "Therein is the problem: People think 15 years is a long time."
Low lake levels and higher premiums have many Michiganders steamed about flood insurance…

…And although angry Michiganders may be misguided on some points, such as believing their premiums are paying for coastal flooding from hurricanes, including Katrina and the rest from the destructive 2005 season, they have legitimate gripes. One fair allegation is that some homes with less risk are lumped with those that have more….

Frozen Lake St. Clair in Michigan, shot by MJCdetroit, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license