[6] At present, approximately 5.5 million properties are covered by the program, with twenty percent of them receiving discount rates of less than half what a private insurance company would charge them.

[6] According to critics of the program, the government's subsidized insurance plan "encouraged building, and rebuilding, in vulnerable coastal areas and floodplains.

"[6] Stephen Ellis, of the group taxpayers for Common Sense, points to "properties that flooded 17 or 18 times that were still covered under the federal insurance program" without premiums going up.

[6] The Biggert–Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 was "designed to allow premiums to rise to reflect the true risk of living in high-flood areas.

[1] They argue that without the delay, flood insurance premiums will increase so much that many of the home and business owners they apply to will be unable to afford coverage and have to leave.

[3] The goal of the amendment was to give people time to change their plans by moving, saving more money, getting errors related to floodplain maps worked out, and so forth.

[3] Frank Nutter, the president of the Reinsurance Associate of America, suggested pursuing a plan of keeping the scheduled insurance premium increases, but targeting the homeowners that are "most in need, while maintaining the benefits of risk-based rates and incentivizing community and individual mitigation.

[6] He and his colleagues suggest using a voucher system instead that would help needy people in exchange for them taking action to make their homes safer and less prone to flood damage.