In a letter to the House of Representatives, the Consumer Federation of America urged representatives to support H.R. 1105, the Disaster Resiliency and Coverage Act. Sponsored by Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA-4) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1), this bill would establish a disaster mitigation program, providing homeowners in disaster-prone areas with strong incentives to harden their homes against natural disasters and reduce their risk of loss.
Insurance premiums have been skyrocketing across the country. Disaster resiliency work, in the form of mitigation efforts, can greatly reduce risk and lower insurance costs. But these prevention investments can have a substantial price tag, making them difficult for working-class and middle-class homeowners to afford.
This bill provides assistance to homeowners to undertake these investments, establishing a grant program administered through states and tribal governments, in which homeowners in designated disaster-prone areas can receive grants of up to $10,000 for disaster resiliency work on their homes. Homeowners who make $250,000 or less annually will be eligible for these grants.
The bill also provides a 30% tax credit for the qualifying mitigation efforts that are done by homeowners or businesses. The tax credit is complimentary to the grant program, providing meaningful assistance to homeowners for whom mitigation needs exceed $10,000.