On July 27, Reps. Kathy Castor (D-FL), and Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) reintroduced H.R. 4699, the Continuous Coverage for Flood Insurance Act. The bill would provide continuous coverage protection to policyholders who leave the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to purchase a private flood policy and then need to return to the NFIP.

This bill would allow consumers whose private-market flood policies are cancelled in the middle of a policy year, through no fault of their own, to return to the NFIP and purchase a policy at their previous rate. Without continuous coverage, consumers with subsidized NFIP policies are effectively penalized with higher rates for attempting to return to the NFIP after leaving it for the private market.

The continuous coverage bill was included in a long-term NFIP reauthorization package that passed the House Financial Services Committee in June 2019. PIA strongly supports H.R. 4699 and views the inclusion of a continuous coverage provision as a top priority in the NFIP reauthorization process.