47°
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
7 Day Forecast
Follow our weather team on social media

Denham Springs flood victim floored after flood insurance hike

7 years 6 months 1 week ago Thursday, September 15 2016 Sep 15, 2016 September 15, 2016 4:18 PM September 15, 2016 in News
Source: WBRZ

DENHAM SPRINGS- Tonight a man who lost everything in the August floods wants to know why his flood insurance went up hundreds of dollars. FEMA said it would not raise rates and would not redo the flood maps.

Billy Hames had nearly six feet of water inside his Jerlyn Drive home. When he got his flood renewal notice in the mail it took his breath away.

Hames is used to paying a little more than $2,000 per year for it. When he received his invoice recently, it went up to $2,538. He immediately called his Allstate Agent who he pays for the National Flood Insurance that is on his house.

"I asked the Allstate rep that and he told me it was a FEMA mandate," Hames said. "That's what my agent told me."

Hames immediately sent the letter over to Denham Springs Mayor Gerard Landry. Landry took action.

"As soon as he sent me a copy of his flood insurance renewal policy I couldn't believe they had done something like that, and immediately forwarded it on to Congressman Garret Graves office," Landry said.

We called Allstate, but a representative could not discuss Hames policy with WBRZ.

"This is just one more reason why I can't stay and rebuild," Hames said.

Hames was out of town with his wife when the floods came. When he returned home, his wife had a heart attack when she saw their flooded house. She's been hospitalized ever since.

Tonight, he's preparing to part ways with the house that he made nearly three decades worth of memories in.

"I think my decision has been made for me," Hames said. "I don't know any other way out."

FEMA issued a statement today and said it will not remap or raise rates after this flood outside of a scheduled increase.  But, this contradicts what Hames says his insurance agent told him.

More News

Desktop News

Click to open Continuous News in a sidebar that updates in real-time.
Radar
7 Days