Reiterates Call for Flood and Property Insurance Tax Relief Following Hurricanes Helene and Milton

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott released a weekly update on his actions to address America’s debt crisis and rising inflation. As Floridians are struggling to make ends meet while recovering from the back-to-back Hurricanes, reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the federal government’s key inflation indicators, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI), rose causing even more in September putting strain on the budgets of American families and small businesses. Since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office, CPI inflation is up 20.5%, while PPI inflation has risen 20.0%.

Ahead of the catastrophic landfalls of Hurricane Helene and Milton, Senator Scott introduced legislation to provide tax relief for Americans who purchase flood insurance either through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or a private insurance carrier. Senator Scott’s legislation incentivizes flood insurance coverage by creating a non-refundable tax deduction for flood insurance premiums. Read more HERE. Senator Scott has also introduced the Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act to provide homeowners a tax deduction of up to $10,000 of premiums paid for homeowners’ insurance annually at their primary residence. Read more HERE.

Senator Rick Scott said, “As I travel around Florida to meet with local, state and federal officials, hear from families and help coordinate resources to ensure our state fully recovers from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, one thing that remains a top concern for folks in our state is the horrific inflation caused by the reckless spending policies of the Biden-Harris administration. While I fight to bring fiscal sanity back to Washington and end the reckless government spending that caused the Harris Price Hikes we see today, I’m committed to doing everything I can to bring costs down for families. That’s why I introduced legislation that provides a non-refundable tax break to families who purchase flood insurance coverage, either through the private market or the NFIP, and another bill that provides a $10,000 tax break for property insurance premiums. These commonsense bills will help lower costs for Floridians while we battle to rein in the Biden-Harris administration’s historic inflation. Floridians are strong. We will recover and I will be there every step of the way to make sure Washington works for you.”

Senator Scott has been fighting for years to reform the broken NFIP. In 2023, Senator Scott wrote a letter to David Maurstad, Senior Executive of the NFIP, demanding transparency and accountability as FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0 has unfairly increased flood insurance rates for millions of Floridians, making the coverage nearly unaffordable for working families who need it. Earlier this Congress, Senator Scott introduced the Flood Insurance Affordability Act, which would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to offer Floridians an option to pay their flood insurance premiums monthly, rather than in a larger lump sum once a year. Senator Scott has also reintroduced three bills, the Removing Barriers to Private Flood Insurance Act, the Flood Insurance Consumer Choice Act, and the Flood Insurance Transparency Act to reform the NFIP which would help lower the cost of flood insurance, build a more robust private market, and ensure the property insurance market better serves Florida families. Senator Scott’s NFIP package has been endorsed by the Federal Association for Insurance Reform (FAIR).

Senator Scott encourages all Floridians to visit his website at www.rickscott.senate.gov/contact/casework for information or help with federal agencies like FEMA and the SBA, following Hurricanes Milton and Helene. Find more on response efforts from the Florida Division of Emergency Management at floridadisaster.org or @FLSERT.

Since being elected to the U.S. Senate, Senator Scott has repeatedly urged action to address America’s debt crisis and the harmful effects of inflation. Click HERE for a comprehensive list of his statements and actions on this urgent issue and HERE for Senator Scott’s Quarterly Economic Snapshot.

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