The National Association of Realtors® (NAR®) wants the federal government to be proactive in disaster relief instead of reactive. The association's immediate past president, Charles McMillan, spoke before two house panels recently to plea his case for more affordable disaster insurance.

McMillan's reasoning, according to an NAR® press release is that tax payers are ending up footing the bill when natural disasters occur because many home owners simply can't afford catastrophic event insurance.

Following is a list of criteria outlined by McMillan and recently published by the NAR®:

• Ensure transparent and comprehensive insurance is available and affordable at premiums reflecting risk.
• Acknowledge personal responsibility of those living in high-risk areas to purchase adequate insurance;
• Provide owners incentives to undertake mitigation measures when appropriate;
• Acknowledge the importance of building codes and smart land-use decisions, stressing the importance of enforcement at the state and local levels;
• Recognize the role of states as appropriate regulators of property insurance and the role of the federal government cases of mega-catastrophes; and
• Reinforce the proper roles of all government levels for investing and maintaining critical infrastructure, like levees, dams and bridges.

McMillan cited House bill, H.R. 2555, the Homeowners' Defense Act, authored by Rep. Ron Klein, D-Fla., as a 'good start.'

'All reasonable proposals should be considered in creating a national policy to proactively address the inevitable, rather than waiting for the next crisis to occur and rely upon taxpayer-funded bailouts,' McMillan told the Congressional panel.