Conservative Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee put their stamp, as they like to phrase it, on the 2012 legislation mandating a phase-in of actuarial rates on flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program by including a provision designed to encourage growth of a private market.

Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, said only a limited market currently exists for personal lines flood insurance, and growth of the private market would be thwarted if the imposition of actuarial rates for the NFIP is delayed or reduced, as is currently being debated.

At the same time, Hartwig said a few carriers write the coverage on select properties, but he emphasized that the NFIP "still dominates the market and will remain the dominant writer so long as its rates remain heavily subsidized by the federal taxpayer."