Flood Insurance Bill Moves in Senate

With the clock ticking, the Senate Banking Committee will reconsider the fate of the National Flood Insurance Program tomorrow.

The committee will debate the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2011, which aims to extend financing of the NFIP until 2016. Unlike the temporary extensions passed over the past few years, the bill would significantly restructure the cash strapped program by expanding mandatory coverage areas and introducing actuarially sound rates by enabling the Federal Emergency Management Agency to increase premiums by 15 percent per year.  In addition to establishing a Technical Mapping Advisory Council to more accurately map flood plains, the act also grants FEMA additional authority to collect information on claims payments from private insurers participating in the Write Your Own program.

Though the bill passed the House by an overwhelming margin in July, it’s path through the Senate is less certain. Many hope the recent spate of flood events, including the damage seen from Hurricane Irene will impart a sense of urgency regarding the bill’s fate.

“As Irene brings more attention to the issue, we are hopeful that the Senate will take meaningful action on NFIP reform, rather than resorting to a short-term extension,” Jimi Grande, SVP of federal and political affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies said in a statement. “Allowing the NFIP to expire, or returning to the ‘fits and starts’ of repeated short-term extensions often mixed with repeated lapses, would be a disaster. While the NFIP is set expire on Sept. 30, the hurricane season isn’t. Major storms could strike the U.S. well into November, and Congress must do its part to ensure that the NFIP will be there when the American people need it."