House of Representatives votes to extend National Flood Insurance Program
The Senate is expected to pass the bill by unanimous consent before July 31.
This story is reprinted with permission from FC&S Legal, the industry’s only comprehensive digital resource designed for insurance coverage law professionals. Visit the website to subscribe.
No provisions to reform NFIP
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to November 30.
The bill passed by the House, 366-52, contains no provisions to reform the NFIP.
The NFIP will expire on July 31 unless the Senate votes to extend the program and the president signs the bill into law.
Related: Flood insurance program may expire as lawmakers consider reforms
The Senate is expected to pass the bill by unanimous consent.
Florida Congressman Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) said in a statement that the House bill “keeps flood insurance strong and clean through hurricane season” and he urged the Senate “to also pass it without delay.”
The congressman added that, “looking past this short-term extension, we have got to get serious about a thoughtful and comprehensive long-term reauthorization that addresses sustainability, accessibility, and affordability. It’s long past time for Congress to get affordable flood insurance done for the people.”
4-month extension
Nat Wienecke, senior vice president of federal government relations at the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) said in a statement that the PCI “is pleased the House passed legislation to protect consumers and continue the National Flood Insurance Program without a lapse. This four-month extension provides homeowners and businesses with certainty through hurricane season. However, PCI and our members urge Congress to pass a long-term bill with reforms that will provide more consumer options and greater financial stability to the NFIP.”
The R Street Institute, a self-described non-profit public policy research organization that supports free markets, limited, effective government, and responsible environmental stewardship, urged senators to reject the measure and not to pass any extension that did not include at least some reforms.
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R.J. Lehmann, R Street’s director of finance, insurance and trade policy, said in a statement that the NFIP “is unsustainable as currently constructed and Congress cannot continue to ignore its problems. Even after Congress moved last year to erase $16 billion of the agency’s debt, it still owes taxpayers roughly $20.5 billion. The Congressional Budget Office projects it will lose an average of $1.4 billion every year.
‘The time for action is now’
“Over the past 20 years, the NFIP has come up for reauthorization 41 times and 38 times Congress has moved to extend it without adopting any needed reforms. That cycle must end. There are simple, commonsense, bipartisan proposals to fix the issues that ail it: from encouraging the market for private coverage to investing in mapping and mitigation to addressing repetitive loss properties. We cannot afford any more delays. The time for action is now.”
Related: Long-term NFIP reauthorization is essential
Steven A. Meyerowitz, Esq., (smeyerowitz@meyerowitzcommunications.com) is the director of FC&S Legal, the editor-in-chief of the Insurance Coverage Law Report, and the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc.