What Agents Need to Know About First Floor Height PIA is closely monitoring an issue affecting the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) PIVOT rating system and the First Floor Height (FFH) data used in determining flood insurance premiums. On or around September 8, 2026, the NFIP began experiencing a malfunction involving First Floor Height data. …
Senate Agriculture Committee passes Farm Bill
The Senate Agriculture Committee passed its version of the Farm Bill on a party line vote to advance the bill to the full Senate. The Senate plans to take up the bill after the mid-term recess. Both the House and Senate versions of the 2026 Farm Bill include provisions that may freeze the administrative and …
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Farm Bill Provisions Threaten to Eliminate Crop Insurance Inflation Adjustment
Both the House and Senate versions of the 2026 Farm Bill include provisions that may freeze the administrative and operating (A&O) expense reimbursement rates for crop insurance agents, House §11009 and Senate §11008, respectively. The provisions set out that the 2026 reimbursement rate will apply to policies written in subsequent years, leaving the plausible interpretation …
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PIA Weekly Report
PIA Report Summary North Carolina enacted the nation's first outright ban on third-party litigation funding, signing House Bill 315 into law with near-unanimous legislative support (House 112-0, Senate 45-1), going far beyond disclosure requirements to prohibit litigation investment entirely, a landmark development insurers are hailing as a potential model for other states. H.R. 7128, the …
Farm Bill 2.0 — What Agents Need to Know
As Congress finalizes updates to the Farm Bill, crop insurance continues to serve as the backbone of the farm safety net. While this year’s bill builds on the foundation laid in 2024, it introduces new provisions that strengthen program integrity, improve access for beginning and veteran farmers, and expand research and development into underserved crops …
NFIP Extended as Record Long Shutdown Comes to an End
On November 12, the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution to fund most of the federal government, including the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), until January 30, 2026. The deal, which also extends Department of Agriculture funding for the remainder of the fiscal year, was signed by President Donald Trump shortly after final House …
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Take Action: PIA urges CMS Action to Address Emerging Medicare Practices
On November 12, PIA sent a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz urging the agency to address concerning trends in the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D markets that threaten consumer access, undermine market integrity, and marginalize the role of licensed insurance agents. Take action here to make your …
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FEMA Releases New Flood Insurance Manual
FEMA has released an updated flood insurance manual which went into effect on October 1st. FEMA made several updates and clarifications in the new manual, highlighted below. Agents can find the full manual with all of its changes here. Changes in October 2025 Flood Insurance Manual A notice has been added to policies to contact …
NFIP Lapse Guidance
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has lapsed after Congress was unable to strike a deal to fund the federal government by the September 30th deadline. While the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through November 21, the bill did not reach the 60 votes required to pass in …
PIA Action Alert: Extend the NFIP
Without Congressional action, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will expire after September 30. With the deadline quickly approaching, your legislators need to hear from you, the members of the independent agent community, that the NFIP needs to be reauthorized. The history of NFIP extensions has been messy. In 2017, the NFIP’s last five-year reauthorization …