2026-0210
INTRODUCED BY: MATTHEW JEWELL, PARISH PRESIDENT
ST. CHARLES PARISH COUNCIL
(DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING & ZONING)
RESOLUTION NO. ___________
Title
A resolution authorizing endorsement of the Commission on Natural Disaster Risk Management and Insurance Act and to urge Congress to consider and advance federal policy options to insurance affordability and availability.
Body
WHEREAS, the Parish of St. Charles is essential to the nation's economy, as an industrial and logistical hub, and the people of St. Charles represent critical workers of these facilities; and,
WHEREAS, the resilience of the residential, commercial, and industrial properties in the Parish of St. Charles and its coastal economy is affected by the affordability and availability of insurance; and,
WHEREAS, since Hurricane Ida's impact and Risk Rating 2.0's implementation in 2021, residents of the Parish of St. Charles have expressed heightened concern about both homeowners and flood insurance premiums; and,
WHEREAS, the Parish of St. Charles 2030 Comprehensive Plan Update identified "significantly higher insurance rates, which can lead to residents being priced out of the area, minimizing the worth of residents' homes, or causing residents to be upside down on their mortgage"; and,
WHEREAS, the Parish of St. Charles is a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)-participating community, earning Class 7 rating in FEMA's Community Rating System (CRS) for floodplain management practices, with Class 6 recommended September 29, 2025; and,
WHEREAS, according to Benjamin J. Keys and Philip Mulder's "Property Insurance and Disaster Risk: New Evidence from Mortgage Escrow Data" NBER Working Paper, the average Parish of St. Charles homeowners' insurance premium is $5,341, an increase of 100.1% since 2021 and now the 16th highest average premium of all counties nationally; and,
WHEREAS, according to the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance (CSFI)'s analysis of Natio...
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