Great idea stop funding for a broken system before coming up with a better one first. Don’t get me wrong I abhor my tax dollars going to rebuild homes for ppl without good sense to move out of an area tha habitually floods, but unless there is some kind of solution is able to be pick up where this one leaves off will only make it more expensive. I’d personally like to see it go back into the private sector instead of goverment control.
It’s so great that our Federal government is looking out for us. This practice of putting unrelated things in a bill needs to stop. If there was a vote just for the flood program, it would pass. But they attached it to the jobs bill…with the hope that would help force the jobs bill through. This is how pork happens all the time…attaching unrelated things in a spending bill.
Please tell me anywhere in the world where everyone can just drop everything and go on vacation for three weeks and everyone just has to wait? This is a sad day.
The senate is looking like a bunch of wealthy, out-of-touch orators whom don’t have a clue about what is going on in the real world. What in the world are they thinking? The world revolves around them…
This has nothing to do with flood insurance or unemployment. Agree with them or not but some Republicans are trying to remind Congress that they pledged to pay for things out of the current budget without just borrowing more money from China to fund them. They are using things that you would think both parties can agree on…If Congress can’t find money to extend people’s unemployment from an already exisiting appropriation and all they can do is keep running up the debt we have a much bigger problem on our hands…it’s very unfortunate that real people’s lives are being affected but unless we get Federal spending under control the entire country is going to sink under the weight of the spiraling national debt.
This is bad. Not speaking for my company whatsoever, this is horrific. Anyone that will be calling a WYO, please have patience with the customer service and underwriting. We are stunned just like everyone else.
Ok righties where was your disgust when the last administration not only decimated the budget surplus but ran up huge deficits to fund an unnecessary war and tax cuts for the ultra rich? They certainly weren’t playing by “pay as you go”. Those weasels wouldn’t include the cost of the war in their budgets. This is nothing more than loser repubs who’s undies are up in bunch because of health care. Remember November 2008? Dem won and repubs lost. Grow up! No flood insurance when the country is about to experience epic flooding is preposterous.
Our government make laws that the banks must require flood insurance in order to provide a loan in a SFHA, then close the program while they go on vacation? Good thing we don’t need people to buy houses to boost the economy. Oh wait…
I know it’s really easy to take this and turn it into a right/left spitting contest. Lets all take a step back for a second and remember that Republicans and Democrats are responsible for this mess and it’s the American people who suffer while they continue to prove themselves useless.
Believe me, I would absolutely love it if our Congress could work together for the benefit of all of us. But it’s the galling hypocracy of folks like Tom Coburn who didn’t have a problem with deficits until Obama was elected.
There’s enough attitude from the right here as well. Regarding the November elections, I’m looking forward to watching the Tea Party becoming the right’s Ralph Nader. Have a great weekend and hope for the for folks in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa that the floods hold off until after 4/12.
Coburn is as guilty as anyone, but the Democrats have played politics with this too, by extending it time after time after time so they can tie it to issues like unemployement benefits.
I think we all need to write our elected representatives and express our outrage and discontent with the situation. For them to let a program that is required by so many lapse for 2+ weeks is near criminal. Also I can near guarantee that it’ll take more then 2 weeks to correct.
Sorry Liberal Agent..2 Trillion Dollars has been added to the Federal Defecit in the last year…more than any year in the history of the US….4 times more than Bush added in his entire presidency. If that’s not bad enough this Congress is running-up the National Mastercard so fast that by 2020 Social Security, Medicare and Debt Service could account for most of the entire US Budget. This isn’t a Colburn issue…it’s about a national financial crisis happening right before our eyes and take this to the bank…by the time this president and Congress are through we won’t have enough to buy an paper clips let alone fund flood insurance.
Well I thought I left this discussion on a high note, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Repubs had eight years to drive this country and its worldwide reputation into the ground, so I apologize that you don’t like the way the Dems are cleaning up your mess. Remember TARP came from Bush not Obama.
And by the way, how about a little compassion for the folks who are going to lose their flood insurance?
FEMA pay’s the insurance industry $ .71 cents of every dollar in premiums it collects.
One Congressman called the NFIP “the worse federal program he has ever seen”.
The NFIP has paid out only $11.6 billion dollars in claims since 1978.
The NFIP owes the US Treasury 20 billion dollar.
FEMA has been unwilling to correct bad data used in new flood maps.
The NFIP puts the burden on the tax payers to correct bad data used for this new insurance maps.
Let’s stop this waste.
Let’s help balance the budget.
Let’s cut this wasteful federal program.
Tell your Congressman and Senators not to fund the NFIP.
Ok Backlash, I’m sure A LOT of the 2 trillion added this year can be attributed to continuing the wars Bush started and left unfinished.
Just saying.
“Sorry Liberal Agent..2 Trillion Dollars has been added to the Federal Defecit in the last year…more than any year in the history of the US….4 times more than Bush added in his entire presidency.”
Liberal Agent, it is exactly this type of partisan behavior that has put us in the spot we are in. Republican, Democrat, or anything else is not to blame, we are for letting it happen. Capitol hill has been empowered by us and now it is out of control and we will suffer the consequences of their actions. Leaving Washington with this hanging is just another example of their arrogance, regardless of which side of the isle you sit.
You mean to tell me that private P & C carriers lack the underwriting and actuarial skills to rate and write their own flood policies?
Since the country supposedly opposes single payer health insurance, no one should be upset if FEMA and Uncle Sam bow out of the flood business and let free market to its thing
Yes the P&C companies can underwrite and price these risks. However, the politicians and regulators would never tolerate the premiums that would have to be charged. Just like they can’t make people stop building homes in flood zones!
Too many Deals have been made between professional politicians jockying for reelection positions. View this like it really is and see them as jockying for unemployment in November.
And the you liberals had problems with Bush’s defecits until Obama stepped in. When he jacked it up to unimaginable heights, you now criticize the Repubs for doing the same thing you were doing. Talk about hypocrisy.
The program is a ponzi scheme that needs to be scaled back. All of the points NOFLOOD has made are right on plus:
-the program promotes environmental damage. People are building and rebuilding in places that are prone to flooding and ecologically important.
-people living in these zones are paying below risk aappropriate prices. It should be self-funded.
An important legal issue that will be tested in the several suits by states to the health care bill, is whether or not the federal government can force citizens of the United States to purchase a product, to wit; health insurance for no other condition other than citizenship. Can the government also tell you which business to purchase from? Think not. Look again, it is already being done. The Home Path program of Fannie Mae, a government sponsored and created agency is require persons who want to take advantage of the program, to purchase products from a specific manufactured. The program provides low interest loan, no closing cost and other benefits. There is a home repair aspect, generally for repossessed homes which requires new appliances to be purchased from Whirlpool, owned by General Electric ( one of Pres. Obama’s biggest contributors and owner of CBS)
Decide for yourself. The following is taken from the Fannie Mae Home Path web page:
Fannie Mae is offering a 3.5% incentive* for buyers who purchase and close on a Fannie Mae-owned home between January 28 and April 30, 2010. Buyers purchasing properties listed on this site that are closed within this period may receive up to 3.5% of the final sales price for:
· Closing costs;
· The purchase of new Whirlpool® appliances by Fannie Mae; or
· A mix of closing costs and appliances, at the buyer’s discretion, up to the maximum 3.5%
What do you think this prhase means: ” The purchase of new Whirlpool applainces by Fannie Mae”. I looks to me that one must buy from a GE owned company to get the government loan. Of course no one must make the loan, unlike the health insurance. But what will be the next buracratic step be in that program? Here is the link to Home Path. See what you think it means. http://www.fanniemae.com/homepath/incentive/index.jhtml
Technically yes but not with enough of a majority to stop the shenanigans. And once again, can I just point out that no where else in the world can we just shut down for three weeks and leave everyone hanging in the balance. I hope they have a really nice holiday while everything in the Northeast continues to thaw and we have heavey rains for the next few days. This should get interesting.
Well Realist, I think your point is a little off the mark on the “Can the government also tell you which business to purchase from?”, because as of right now, if they can be accepted by a private insurance company, they have that option. But I do see where you are going with your train of thought. Personally, I am still trying to figure out if I agree with making everyone buy health insurace. on the con side, it should be up to the person if they want to have the health insurance or not, but on the pro side, if they do not have health insurance and can not pay when they get really sick, then the taxpayers have to foot the bill. But, i am also of the mindset, “If this government option of health care is so great, why aren’t all the congress people that voted for it forced to be placed on it?” I have yet to hear an answer on this.
While I deplore the politics that got us to this state, it is important to remember that the NFIP will most likely be reinstated – retroactively – and the only real coverage concerns are for homes with loans closing during the hiatus, or prior applications with 30 day wait periods that are expiring.
Claims will still be paid on all existing policies, so people aren’t as “hung out to dry” as most of these comments make it seem.
Personally, I think these short term extensions are ludicrous. Congress knows full well that they can’t work up the necessary reforms to the NFIP in 30 days. Renew the NFIP for 6 months or a year and move on already!
I contacted one of my Flood carriers as I have an insured who is scheduled to be renewing 4/1. I was advised of a few things that I think are very alarming.
* A retroactive date is not guaranteed. They could reinstate without backdating.
* If my insured has a loss during this timeframe, they have to wait to see if it will be covered.
* I should remind my insured that “we’re waiting on the US government here.” and “Everyone is in the same boat.”
I’m upset about this for a couple of reasons. This person has paid the premium which “will be held until the program is reinstated” but cannot access their coverage till Congress gets it’s act together. They’ve left people “hanging” in the sense that they will have to bear the burden themselves if a loss occurs while the goverment holds their premiums. I’m not aware of any agent or carrier that is allowed to just hold premiums without confirming coverage or handling claims.
Everyone on this page needs to start writing and phoning their local and state representives. Spread thw message. It will only stop when we start being proactive and quit complaining.Just a thought!
This should have never come to this in the first place. With how important the flood insurance is to home closings, why is this not a stand alone bill in Congress? Congress has shown their inability to govern. This extention should not be attached to healthcare or unemployment. They have to politicize everything and in the meantime the consumer pays again! Thanks Ms. Pelosi! You are about useless!!!
With the economy teetering on whether it’s getting better, or not, and with the housing market being instrumental for recovery Congress has got a lot of nerve to go on recess and leave the NFIP program in limbo. Shame on them!
I have commented many times and will again: no governmental entity should be selling insurance – period. this includes flood insurance. the private market system will either fill the niche, and do it in an economically sound fashion, or the product “can’t be had”. let FEMA die and let’s move on. it’s far worse than bailing out the big banks or AIG.
Would you have the same opinion if the closing of your home (buying or selling) were to fall through because of no flood insurance? Like it,or not, the NFIP exists because the private market did not want to take on the risk themselves. Or, the cost of the coverage would be prohibitive. Without flood insurance, when a catastrophic event occurs, the federal govt. will step in and it will end up costing them – and taxpayers – substantially more than subsidizing the NFIP.
Liberal Agent, who is in charge of the house and senate? Wait, in rereading your 1st post, you said the DEMS. So screw everyone, go on vacation and the heck with the flood program?
Simple solution. Put the flood program into an emergency bill all by itself, yes, no riders, no student loans, no unemployment, no cash for clunkers and pass the thing. The flood program has run out of funding time and time again, and in the past an emergency bill goes through to fix it. Guess there was just so much hoopla over the big f***ing deal that they forgot to take care of this and had to rush home for another 3 week vacation. Wish I had their vacation plan.
Look folks…We’re in a Huge Hole. Indignation about the Republicans standing in the way of funding NIFP is truly misplaced. We have a huge national spending problem. If we can’t find money in the exisitng budget to fund NFIP and instead need to borrow the money from foreign investors, we have a lot bigger problems than flood insurance. Spending for all puposes is totally out of control…and unfortunately the pace of borrowing is at a point never before seen in human history. As a wise man once said, no one can borrow their way to posperity and needing to borrow money to fund unemplyoment and the NFIP is a little using your home equity line to pay your mortgage…the hole just gets dug deeper and faster.
Well said. Do you think the Chinese will start asking for collateral, i.e. a national park or two, maybe some national treasures in the Smithsonian? Maybe we can give them a stake in GM?
OK, first off, there are American people paying premiums into NFIP so the government is not funding that alone. They have no problem holding on to the checks they get. If the premiums are too low well then lets actually sit down and fix it instead of using NFIP as a pawn to get other bills passed. This issue is large enough that it needs it’s own legislation. The coverage is from the STONE AGE as it is but it’s better than nothing. AND can I just say again that I find it disgusting that they just left and we all have to wait for them to enjoy their holiday. Oh and there’s Flood watches all over the place. Nice.
I think it is time to separate the issues and stop letting congress add their pet issues & projects to unrelated legislation. How about passing a law to that effect.
NY that’s wishful thinking under the Sheik Obama Pelosi Reid regime. They will find ways to continue to bleed the American Taxpayer dry, add all kinds of non-essential, non-germane items to hold hostage whatever legislation they deem to be “critical” . Yea, it was done in the past, but not as radical as today’s congressional leadership. It seems the obama agenda to create chaos as a way to get things done, costing taxpayers a trillion here a trillion there.
Like his twisted truth about drilling for oil. He actually just put it off until later to “study” an industry that 100 yrs old. Double talk to bleed America some more.
Rotting from within
Correct! He flip flops on that a massive change from his campaign promise to the environmental base. It takes approximately 3 years to start extracting oil not 12 like he was preaching during the campaign. (12 years is good number – serves as president two terms – 8 years + the 3+ years to drill and extract oil, there’s your 11/12 years). But Sheik Obama is so beholden to his Saudi Islamic brethren that he’s keeping us indentured to OPEC and Chavez. Now that he’s nationalized the auto industry, banking, insurance he might as well go after petroleum/energy industry and indenture the American people so the government can control every aspect of the economy. Of course he will face no scrutiny from the so-called mainstream media for having lied again I mean changing his mind.
SO with Congress out for their recess break, and the NFIP suspended indefinitely, what do people get this coverage in the near term? I’m new to the insurance industry, so can someone explain to me how the current flooding in the Northeast isn’t hanging these people out to dry?
News Reader – Yes, the people in the northeast have legitimate concerns, but you have to remember, for the individual that just wants to purchase flood insurance because it rained, there would be a 30 day waiting period under normal circumstances. They still wouldn’t be covered immediately.
People with existing policies will have claims paid as normal, although it’s possible they may be delayed, particularly if the existing policy is supposed to renew during this hiatus.
Assuming Congress reinstates the NFIP retroactively, as they usually do, these circumstances will work themselves out, but there is always the chance that they won’t make it retroactive, which could cause a lot of problems for people. I think the potential political backlash from that would prevent it from happening however.
Let’s set the record straight: the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) has rated the NFIP a “budget neutral” entity. NO IMPACT on the budget or economy. Requires NO FUNDING from the Federal Government. Which REALLY makes it a total no-brainer to let it stand on its own, be voted on get it out of the legislature completely and permanently. Not sure why that does not happen. Surely SOMEONE among the 100 members of the senate would notice this and stop wasting time on it…
Thank you Tom Coburn for putting the brakes on an already struggling Real Estate Market. How do you expect the economy to rebound if we are unable to close our real estate transaction. Thank you now we have a homeless buyers, a seller who is paying another months mortgage, and realtors and loan officers who’s own families depend on the closings so that they can pay their mortgages. Thanks for adding to the pain and suffering Mr. Coburn.Realtor Houston Texas
Great idea stop funding for a broken system before coming up with a better one first. Don’t get me wrong I abhor my tax dollars going to rebuild homes for ppl without good sense to move out of an area tha habitually floods, but unless there is some kind of solution is able to be pick up where this one leaves off will only make it more expensive. I’d personally like to see it go back into the private sector instead of goverment control.
It’s so great that our Federal government is looking out for us. This practice of putting unrelated things in a bill needs to stop. If there was a vote just for the flood program, it would pass. But they attached it to the jobs bill…with the hope that would help force the jobs bill through. This is how pork happens all the time…attaching unrelated things in a spending bill.
Please tell me anywhere in the world where everyone can just drop everything and go on vacation for three weeks and everyone just has to wait? This is a sad day.
This is a harbinger of things to come when the Feds run our Healthcare. I hope we live through it!
The senate is looking like a bunch of wealthy, out-of-touch orators whom don’t have a clue about what is going on in the real world. What in the world are they thinking? The world revolves around them…
This has nothing to do with flood insurance or unemployment. Agree with them or not but some Republicans are trying to remind Congress that they pledged to pay for things out of the current budget without just borrowing more money from China to fund them. They are using things that you would think both parties can agree on…If Congress can’t find money to extend people’s unemployment from an already exisiting appropriation and all they can do is keep running up the debt we have a much bigger problem on our hands…it’s very unfortunate that real people’s lives are being affected but unless we get Federal spending under control the entire country is going to sink under the weight of the spiraling national debt.
At least the Federal Government isn’t involved in health insurance!!! Oh… wait a minute.
“Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms.”
– Aristotle
This is bad. Not speaking for my company whatsoever, this is horrific. Anyone that will be calling a WYO, please have patience with the customer service and underwriting. We are stunned just like everyone else.
Hey wait a minute, wasn’t this attached to the health bill that just passed? I mean everything else is!
Ok righties where was your disgust when the last administration not only decimated the budget surplus but ran up huge deficits to fund an unnecessary war and tax cuts for the ultra rich? They certainly weren’t playing by “pay as you go”. Those weasels wouldn’t include the cost of the war in their budgets. This is nothing more than loser repubs who’s undies are up in bunch because of health care. Remember November 2008? Dem won and repubs lost. Grow up! No flood insurance when the country is about to experience epic flooding is preposterous.
Our government make laws that the banks must require flood insurance in order to provide a loan in a SFHA, then close the program while they go on vacation? Good thing we don’t need people to buy houses to boost the economy. Oh wait…
I know it’s really easy to take this and turn it into a right/left spitting contest. Lets all take a step back for a second and remember that Republicans and Democrats are responsible for this mess and it’s the American people who suffer while they continue to prove themselves useless.
Too bad we can stop the pay to congress till they balance the budget. Then you would see cooperation…
He is 100% correct.
As for Flood Smarter’s remarks, I agree, please go easy on the WYO companies, we’re all victims of Congressional abuse.
Liberal Agent – nice attitude. Just remember, November is only 9 months away…
Believe me, I would absolutely love it if our Congress could work together for the benefit of all of us. But it’s the galling hypocracy of folks like Tom Coburn who didn’t have a problem with deficits until Obama was elected.
There’s enough attitude from the right here as well. Regarding the November elections, I’m looking forward to watching the Tea Party becoming the right’s Ralph Nader. Have a great weekend and hope for the for folks in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa that the floods hold off until after 4/12.
Coburn is as guilty as anyone, but the Democrats have played politics with this too, by extending it time after time after time so they can tie it to issues like unemployement benefits.
Both sides have plenty of egg on their face.
Agreed, it’d be great if they could work together.
I think we all need to write our elected representatives and express our outrage and discontent with the situation. For them to let a program that is required by so many lapse for 2+ weeks is near criminal. Also I can near guarantee that it’ll take more then 2 weeks to correct.
Heres a site to help you locate your senator http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Sorry Liberal Agent..2 Trillion Dollars has been added to the Federal Defecit in the last year…more than any year in the history of the US….4 times more than Bush added in his entire presidency. If that’s not bad enough this Congress is running-up the National Mastercard so fast that by 2020 Social Security, Medicare and Debt Service could account for most of the entire US Budget. This isn’t a Colburn issue…it’s about a national financial crisis happening right before our eyes and take this to the bank…by the time this president and Congress are through we won’t have enough to buy an paper clips let alone fund flood insurance.
Well I thought I left this discussion on a high note, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Repubs had eight years to drive this country and its worldwide reputation into the ground, so I apologize that you don’t like the way the Dems are cleaning up your mess. Remember TARP came from Bush not Obama.
And by the way, how about a little compassion for the folks who are going to lose their flood insurance?
FEMA pay’s the insurance industry $ .71 cents of every dollar in premiums it collects.
One Congressman called the NFIP “the worse federal program he has ever seen”.
The NFIP has paid out only $11.6 billion dollars in claims since 1978.
The NFIP owes the US Treasury 20 billion dollar.
FEMA has been unwilling to correct bad data used in new flood maps.
The NFIP puts the burden on the tax payers to correct bad data used for this new insurance maps.
Let’s stop this waste.
Let’s help balance the budget.
Let’s cut this wasteful federal program.
Tell your Congressman and Senators not to fund the NFIP.
Stop the National Flood Insurance Program.
Ok Backlash, I’m sure A LOT of the 2 trillion added this year can be attributed to continuing the wars Bush started and left unfinished.
Just saying.
“Sorry Liberal Agent..2 Trillion Dollars has been added to the Federal Defecit in the last year…more than any year in the history of the US….4 times more than Bush added in his entire presidency.”
Liberal Agent, it is exactly this type of partisan behavior that has put us in the spot we are in. Republican, Democrat, or anything else is not to blame, we are for letting it happen. Capitol hill has been empowered by us and now it is out of control and we will suffer the consequences of their actions. Leaving Washington with this hanging is just another example of their arrogance, regardless of which side of the isle you sit.
You mean to tell me that private P & C carriers lack the underwriting and actuarial skills to rate and write their own flood policies?
Since the country supposedly opposes single payer health insurance, no one should be upset if FEMA and Uncle Sam bow out of the flood business and let free market to its thing
Yes the P&C companies can underwrite and price these risks. However, the politicians and regulators would never tolerate the premiums that would have to be charged. Just like they can’t make people stop building homes in flood zones!
Too many Deals have been made between professional politicians jockying for reelection positions. View this like it really is and see them as jockying for unemployment in November.
And the you liberals had problems with Bush’s defecits until Obama stepped in. When he jacked it up to unimaginable heights, you now criticize the Repubs for doing the same thing you were doing. Talk about hypocrisy.
The program is a ponzi scheme that needs to be scaled back. All of the points NOFLOOD has made are right on plus:
-the program promotes environmental damage. People are building and rebuilding in places that are prone to flooding and ecologically important.
-people living in these zones are paying below risk aappropriate prices. It should be self-funded.
And while we are at it, lets get rid of FHCF too.
Wait a minute, Aren’t the DEMOCRATS in charge of both houses?!
An important legal issue that will be tested in the several suits by states to the health care bill, is whether or not the federal government can force citizens of the United States to purchase a product, to wit; health insurance for no other condition other than citizenship. Can the government also tell you which business to purchase from? Think not. Look again, it is already being done. The Home Path program of Fannie Mae, a government sponsored and created agency is require persons who want to take advantage of the program, to purchase products from a specific manufactured. The program provides low interest loan, no closing cost and other benefits. There is a home repair aspect, generally for repossessed homes which requires new appliances to be purchased from Whirlpool, owned by General Electric ( one of Pres. Obama’s biggest contributors and owner of CBS)
Decide for yourself. The following is taken from the Fannie Mae Home Path web page:
Fannie Mae is offering a 3.5% incentive* for buyers who purchase and close on a Fannie Mae-owned home between January 28 and April 30, 2010. Buyers purchasing properties listed on this site that are closed within this period may receive up to 3.5% of the final sales price for:
· Closing costs;
· The purchase of new Whirlpool® appliances by Fannie Mae; or
· A mix of closing costs and appliances, at the buyer’s discretion, up to the maximum 3.5%
What do you think this prhase means: ” The purchase of new Whirlpool applainces by Fannie Mae”. I looks to me that one must buy from a GE owned company to get the government loan. Of course no one must make the loan, unlike the health insurance. But what will be the next buracratic step be in that program? Here is the link to Home Path. See what you think it means.
http://www.fanniemae.com/homepath/incentive/index.jhtml
Technically yes but not with enough of a majority to stop the shenanigans. And once again, can I just point out that no where else in the world can we just shut down for three weeks and leave everyone hanging in the balance. I hope they have a really nice holiday while everything in the Northeast continues to thaw and we have heavey rains for the next few days. This should get interesting.
Well Realist, I think your point is a little off the mark on the “Can the government also tell you which business to purchase from?”, because as of right now, if they can be accepted by a private insurance company, they have that option. But I do see where you are going with your train of thought. Personally, I am still trying to figure out if I agree with making everyone buy health insurace. on the con side, it should be up to the person if they want to have the health insurance or not, but on the pro side, if they do not have health insurance and can not pay when they get really sick, then the taxpayers have to foot the bill. But, i am also of the mindset, “If this government option of health care is so great, why aren’t all the congress people that voted for it forced to be placed on it?” I have yet to hear an answer on this.
While I deplore the politics that got us to this state, it is important to remember that the NFIP will most likely be reinstated – retroactively – and the only real coverage concerns are for homes with loans closing during the hiatus, or prior applications with 30 day wait periods that are expiring.
Claims will still be paid on all existing policies, so people aren’t as “hung out to dry” as most of these comments make it seem.
Personally, I think these short term extensions are ludicrous. Congress knows full well that they can’t work up the necessary reforms to the NFIP in 30 days. Renew the NFIP for 6 months or a year and move on already!
I contacted one of my Flood carriers as I have an insured who is scheduled to be renewing 4/1. I was advised of a few things that I think are very alarming.
* A retroactive date is not guaranteed. They could reinstate without backdating.
* If my insured has a loss during this timeframe, they have to wait to see if it will be covered.
* I should remind my insured that “we’re waiting on the US government here.” and “Everyone is in the same boat.”
I’m upset about this for a couple of reasons. This person has paid the premium which “will be held until the program is reinstated” but cannot access their coverage till Congress gets it’s act together. They’ve left people “hanging” in the sense that they will have to bear the burden themselves if a loss occurs while the goverment holds their premiums. I’m not aware of any agent or carrier that is allowed to just hold premiums without confirming coverage or handling claims.
Everyone on this page needs to start writing and phoning their local and state representives. Spread thw message. It will only stop when we start being proactive and quit complaining.Just a thought!
My carrier, American Bankers, said : “There will be no interruption in claim payments for policies currently in effect.”
VOTE THEM ALL OUT
This should have never come to this in the first place. With how important the flood insurance is to home closings, why is this not a stand alone bill in Congress? Congress has shown their inability to govern. This extention should not be attached to healthcare or unemployment. They have to politicize everything and in the meantime the consumer pays again! Thanks Ms. Pelosi! You are about useless!!!
With the economy teetering on whether it’s getting better, or not, and with the housing market being instrumental for recovery Congress has got a lot of nerve to go on recess and leave the NFIP program in limbo. Shame on them!
I have commented many times and will again: no governmental entity should be selling insurance – period. this includes flood insurance. the private market system will either fill the niche, and do it in an economically sound fashion, or the product “can’t be had”. let FEMA die and let’s move on. it’s far worse than bailing out the big banks or AIG.
Would you have the same opinion if the closing of your home (buying or selling) were to fall through because of no flood insurance? Like it,or not, the NFIP exists because the private market did not want to take on the risk themselves. Or, the cost of the coverage would be prohibitive. Without flood insurance, when a catastrophic event occurs, the federal govt. will step in and it will end up costing them – and taxpayers – substantially more than subsidizing the NFIP.
Who controls what bills are priority in the House – oh that’s right, Pelosi. Who
controls the Senat, oh that’s right, Reid.
Duh.
Liberal Agent, who is in charge of the house and senate? Wait, in rereading your 1st post, you said the DEMS. So screw everyone, go on vacation and the heck with the flood program?
Simple solution. Put the flood program into an emergency bill all by itself, yes, no riders, no student loans, no unemployment, no cash for clunkers and pass the thing. The flood program has run out of funding time and time again, and in the past an emergency bill goes through to fix it. Guess there was just so much hoopla over the big f***ing deal that they forgot to take care of this and had to rush home for another 3 week vacation. Wish I had their vacation plan.
Look folks…We’re in a Huge Hole. Indignation about the Republicans standing in the way of funding NIFP is truly misplaced. We have a huge national spending problem. If we can’t find money in the exisitng budget to fund NFIP and instead need to borrow the money from foreign investors, we have a lot bigger problems than flood insurance. Spending for all puposes is totally out of control…and unfortunately the pace of borrowing is at a point never before seen in human history. As a wise man once said, no one can borrow their way to posperity and needing to borrow money to fund unemplyoment and the NFIP is a little using your home equity line to pay your mortgage…the hole just gets dug deeper and faster.
Well said. Do you think the Chinese will start asking for collateral, i.e. a national park or two, maybe some national treasures in the Smithsonian? Maybe we can give them a stake in GM?
See, it’s not that the P&C carriers CAN’T write their own flood policies or AREN’T ALLOWED to.
It’s that they (we) DON’T WANT TO!
The private market considers flood to be an uninsurable peril, due to non-independence of the exposure and extreme adverse selection issues.
In layman’s terms, the only one who wanted it were the highest risks, and when anyone had a loss, they ALL had a loss.
NFIP was not so much a takeover as it was a response to unavailability of flood coverage.
OK, first off, there are American people paying premiums into NFIP so the government is not funding that alone. They have no problem holding on to the checks they get. If the premiums are too low well then lets actually sit down and fix it instead of using NFIP as a pawn to get other bills passed. This issue is large enough that it needs it’s own legislation. The coverage is from the STONE AGE as it is but it’s better than nothing. AND can I just say again that I find it disgusting that they just left and we all have to wait for them to enjoy their holiday. Oh and there’s Flood watches all over the place. Nice.
I think it is time to separate the issues and stop letting congress add their pet issues & projects to unrelated legislation. How about passing a law to that effect.
NY that’s wishful thinking under the Sheik Obama Pelosi Reid regime. They will find ways to continue to bleed the American Taxpayer dry, add all kinds of non-essential, non-germane items to hold hostage whatever legislation they deem to be “critical” . Yea, it was done in the past, but not as radical as today’s congressional leadership. It seems the obama agenda to create chaos as a way to get things done, costing taxpayers a trillion here a trillion there.
Like his twisted truth about drilling for oil. He actually just put it off until later to “study” an industry that 100 yrs old. Double talk to bleed America some more.
Rotting from within
Correct! He flip flops on that a massive change from his campaign promise to the environmental base. It takes approximately 3 years to start extracting oil not 12 like he was preaching during the campaign. (12 years is good number – serves as president two terms – 8 years + the 3+ years to drill and extract oil, there’s your 11/12 years). But Sheik Obama is so beholden to his Saudi Islamic brethren that he’s keeping us indentured to OPEC and Chavez. Now that he’s nationalized the auto industry, banking, insurance he might as well go after petroleum/energy industry and indenture the American people so the government can control every aspect of the economy. Of course he will face no scrutiny from the so-called mainstream media for having lied again I mean changing his mind.
SO with Congress out for their recess break, and the NFIP suspended indefinitely, what do people get this coverage in the near term? I’m new to the insurance industry, so can someone explain to me how the current flooding in the Northeast isn’t hanging these people out to dry?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36085345/ns/weather/
News Reader – Yes, the people in the northeast have legitimate concerns, but you have to remember, for the individual that just wants to purchase flood insurance because it rained, there would be a 30 day waiting period under normal circumstances. They still wouldn’t be covered immediately.
People with existing policies will have claims paid as normal, although it’s possible they may be delayed, particularly if the existing policy is supposed to renew during this hiatus.
Assuming Congress reinstates the NFIP retroactively, as they usually do, these circumstances will work themselves out, but there is always the chance that they won’t make it retroactive, which could cause a lot of problems for people. I think the potential political backlash from that would prevent it from happening however.
I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IDIOT ATTACHED IT TO THE UNEMPLOYMENT BILL
Let’s set the record straight: the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) has rated the NFIP a “budget neutral” entity. NO IMPACT on the budget or economy. Requires NO FUNDING from the Federal Government. Which REALLY makes it a total no-brainer to let it stand on its own, be voted on get it out of the legislature completely and permanently. Not sure why that does not happen. Surely SOMEONE among the 100 members of the senate would notice this and stop wasting time on it…
Thank you Tom Coburn for putting the brakes on an already struggling Real Estate Market. How do you expect the economy to rebound if we are unable to close our real estate transaction. Thank you now we have a homeless buyers, a seller who is paying another months mortgage, and realtors and loan officers who’s own families depend on the closings so that they can pay their mortgages. Thanks for adding to the pain and suffering Mr. Coburn.Realtor Houston Texas