Washington – The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3959, which would gradually phase out some of the subsidies in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
The bill would require any purchaser of a pre-FIRM (Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization) ACT primary residential home that costs $600,000 or higher to pay phased-in actuarial flood insurance prices using the same phase-in structure that non-residential and non-primary homes are currently subject to in the FIRM Act as passed by the House of Representatives.
“This would make the flood program more actuarially sound and more effective at serving both consumers and taxpayers, and we hope the Senate will consider including it in their broader Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization legislation,” says Charles Symington Jr., SVP for government affairs for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (BIG “I”).
“This bill is a great start to the 2008 flood insurance reform efforts and illustrates Congressional commitment to strengthen the NFIP for policyholders and taxpayers across America,” says Paul Kangas, director, federal government relations for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Rep. Scott Garrett R-N.J sponsored the bill.
Sources: PCI, BIG “I”
