Congress' Continuing Resolution extends NFIP
The legislation will provide an extension for the National Flood Insurance Program through December 16, 2022.
On September 30, 2022, President Joe Biden signed legislation – passed by both the Senate and House – that extends the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) authorization to December 16, 2022. The NFIP is managed by FEMA and is available to anyone living in one of the 23,000 NFIP participant communities. The program assists property owners, renters and businesses to obtain flood coverage through their network of over 50 insurers, since standard homeowners policies don’t cover flood damage.
“Since 2018, every single U.S. State has experienced a flood emergency,” RIMS President Patrick Sterling said in a press release celebrating the extension. “Risk professionals count on the National Flood Insurance Program to protect our organizations’ assets and to remain in good standing with our commercial real estate contracts. RIMS is encouraged by this bi-partisan effort and will continue to work with our partners on Capitol Hill to support the development of a longer-term extension in December.”
The signing of this extension comes in the wake of Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm September 28, 2022. According to Karen Clark & Co., private insured losses from Ian could reach a projected $63 billion. Hurricane Ian is expected to be the largest hurricane-related loss event (in nominal dollars) in Florida’s history.
“NFIP reauthorization is an opportunity for Congress to take bold steps to reduce the complexity of the program and strengthen the NFIP’s financial framework so that the program can continue helping individuals and communities take the critical step of securing flood insurance,” FEMA said in a release. “The level of damage from recent catastrophic storms makes it clear that FEMA needs a holistic plan to ready the nation for managing the cost of flooding under the NFIP.”