Action Accusing SFIP Insurer of Improperly Charging Higher Premiums Preempted, Ill. Federal Judge Rules

CHICAGO — A putative class action accusing the issuer of Standard Flood Insurance Policies of improperly charging higher premiums for houses that had been redesignated as being in a lower risk flood zone is preempted by Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations, an Illinois federal judge has ruled.

In a Dec. 12 order, Judge Sara Ellis of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois noted that the SFIP unambiguously states that it is exclusively governed by federal law.

Leo Podgorski purchased an SFIP from Liberty Mutual Group Inc. for his house in Antioch, Ill. At that time, …