State commission responding to storm damage explores public flood insurance

While Maine has seen seven federal disaster declarations for severe storms and flooding in the past three years, statewide enrollment in federally-backed flood insurance policies is dwindling. Only 1.3% of all homes and buildings in Maine are covered under the National Flood Insurance Program. Public infrastructure has been repeatedly damaged, including the coast’s working waterfronts, and the state has been reliant on federal disaster assistance to rebuild. At a meeting earlier this month, members of the state Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission wondered whether a public insurance option offered by the state could protect both the uninsured and the state’s own public infrastructure.