"Our top priority right now is preventing an NFIP lapse," says Ben McKay, senior vice president of federal government relations for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. "The program is set to expire in exactly two weeks."

Grande says Senate Republicans and Democrats have expressed confidence they'll be able to complete work on a long-term authorization of NFIP prior to Nov. 18.

"While we are urging a five-year program reauthorization, we support a short-term extension that will provide additional time to discuss a comprehensive bill," McKay adds.

The extension will be contained in a continuing resolution that has already been drafted. It is necessary to keep the government running while Congress continues work on the budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

Grande says reform of the NFIP is long overdue. "We urge Congress not to miss another opportunity to place the NFIP on sounder financial footing," he says.

Legislation reauthorizing the NFIP until Sept. 30, 2016 was reported to the Senate floor earlier this month by the Senate Banking Committee.

The House passed its NFIP-reform bill in July. However, the House and Senate NFIP bills contain differences—leading to a stall in efforts for a long-term reauthorization.

NFIP provides flood-insurance coverage to more than 5.6 million Americans but, according to the Government Accountability Office, the program is running a $17.8 billion deficit.

Still, industry officials had hoped recent flooding throughout the U.S. would lead to some urgency in getting NFIP reauthorized.

"Short-term patches for the NFIP are dangerous for the marketplace," McKay says. "In 2010, flood policies could not be purchased or renewed for a total of 53 days due to a disjointed patchwork of short-term flood extensions that led to program lapses."