Sustainability Street: Inside CRE’s Flood Insurance Quandary

Welcome back to Sustainability Street, our podcast on the intersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in.

For this episode, my guests—Sairah Burki, managing director & head of Regulatory Affairs & Sustainability at the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, and David McCarthy, CREFC managing director & head of Legislative Affairs—delve into the legislative logjam around the National Flood Insurance Program, which, though basically insolvent, is the only flood insurance alternative for many.

“The policymakers have to decide who is going to pay for this,” McCarthy said. “Is it going to be the Federal government. People who are not as exposed to floods as people who are. Are they going to pick up the tab for this in their tax bills? Or is the insurance program itself going to be re-balanced to be more market based, which means higher costs.

Here are some highlights from our conversation:

• A worsening problem (1:30)
• The rising cost of coverage (7:17)
• What it means for owners and lenders (8:37)
• A bi-partisan concern (12:58)
• The industry lobbies for clarity and resilience (15:22)
• What a new administration means for sustainability (23:27)

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