# Understanding the Flood Insurance for Farmers Act of 2022

This bill makes it easier for farmers to get flood insurance for their agricultural buildings by changing some of the strict rules that currently apply in flood-prone areas. Right now, if you own a farm in a flood zone, federal regulations often require you to either elevate your barn, storage building, or other farm structures well above the expected flood level, or make them completely waterproof. These requirements can be extremely expensive and sometimes physically impossible depending on what the building is used for. This bill allows local governments to grant exceptions to these rules for farm buildings, as long as certain safety conditions are met.

The key change is that local zoning authorities can now approve what's called a "variance"—basically a permission slip to build or repair an agricultural structure without following the standard elevation or waterproofing requirements. However, this isn't a free pass. Before granting a variance, local officials must confirm that elevation or waterproofing truly isn't practical for that particular farm building, and they have to make sure the structure won't increase flood risk for the surrounding area. There's also a safety check: the building can't have received more than one insurance claim over $1,000 in the previous ten years. The bill also allows one single-family dwelling on a farm property to qualify for this same flexibility, as long as the owner or operator of the farm lives there.

To make this work financially, the bill ensures that farmers who get these variances won't face unfairly high insurance premiums as punishment for not meeting the standard requirements. Instead, their insurance rates will be based on what they'd pay if the building had been made waterproof, or on rates for similar low-risk agricultural structures. Additionally, the bill creates an option for farmers with multiple buildings on their property to purchase one umbrella flood insurance policy covering all their structures, rather than having to buy separate policies for each building—though choosing this option remains voluntary and rates must be set fairly based on actual risk.

Flood Insurance for Farmers Act of 2022

Garamendi, John

Flood Insurance for Farmers Act of 2022 This bill revises the National Flood Insurance Program to allow exemptions of certain agricultural structures from flood-proofing or elevation standards while receiving coverage under the program. The bill also provides for optional umbrella coverage for commercial, residential (including multifamily rental units), and agricultural property to be made available to all applicants with multiple structures on the same property.