Senate extends National Flood Insurance Program to November 21
This marks the 13th short-term extension of the NFIP since its most recent long-term authorization expired in 2017.
On September 26, the Senate joined the House in including an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in a federal funding continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the NFIP and other federal programs until November 21. The NFIP would have expired after September 30 without Congressional action. The CR was passed 82-15.
This is now the 13th extension of the program since 2017 when its most recent long-term authorization expired.
Commenting on the extension, Jon Gentile, vice president of Government Relations at PIA National said in a statement, “Short-term extensions are not a solution, and they create uncertainty for consumers, the insurance industry, and real estate markets.”
Gentile added, “Thankfully, a way forward for a long-term reauthorization of the NFIP already exists in the bipartisan legislation that passed unanimously out of the House Financial Services Committee in June.”
The National Flood Insurance Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3167), sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), and the National Flood Insurance Program Administrative Reform Act (H.R. 3111), sponsored by Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), passed out of the House Financial Services Committee on June 12, and these bills include important reforms to the program, along with a long-term, five-year reauthorization.
“PIA National calls on the House to pass this legislation cleanly as soon as possible,” Gentile said, “and we ask the Senate to then do the same. Congress should not miss this bipartisan opportunity to reform the NFIP and reauthorize it on a long-term basis.”
The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) released the following statement by Charles Symington, senior vice president of external, industry and government affairs, on the Congressional reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP):
“A lapse in the NFIP would be devastating to the more than 5 million policyholders and countless others who depend on the program. With Congressional passage of a short-term NFIP extension taken care of, we now urge Congress to pass a long-term reauthorization that would modernize the program and increase take-up rates for flood insurance in both the NFIP and the private market.”
See also: