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 expired. In advance of that deadline, the 115th Congress was unable to agree on NFIP reforms. As a result, the program briefly lapsed three times. Since then, the NFIP has been subject to 33 extensions of varying lengths, none longer than one year.
Congress’s inability to pass a long-term reauthorization has had substantial ramifications for policyholders and agents. Unfortunately, even short lapses negatively affect consumers. With Congress facing another potential lapse of the program, it is vital that agents convey the importance of the NFIP to members of Congress and urge them to prioritize the program’s extension.
Lapses of the NFIP of any length are detrimental to consumers. When the program lapses, consumers cannot renew existing policies or purchase new ones. Claims may be paid on losses associated with existing policies, but only for policyholders whose losses occurred before the lapse began. Those who experience a flood loss during a lapse may not be so lucky; they may not have their claims processed until the NFIP is reauthorized. Previous NFIP lapses are estimated to have disrupted the sales of over a thousand homes a day, and the longer the lapse, the greater the disruption.
PIA strongly urges Congress to extend the NFIP for as long as possible and supports any legislation that would prevent a program lapse.
Click here to send a message to your legislators urging them to extend the NFIP for as long as possible.