Two U.S. Congressmen, one a Democrat from Louisiana and the other a Republican from Mississippi, have introduced legislation to retroactively restore the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Congressmen Troy A. Carter, Sr., D-La., and Mike Ezell, R-Miss. introduced H.R. 5848, the NFIP Retroactive Renewal and Reauthorization Act, a bill that would reauthorize the NFIP through 2026 and include a retroactive renewal period for policyholders whose coverage expired during the government shutdown.
NFIP’s lapsed without congressional authorization as the federal government shutdown Oct. 1. New federal flood insurance policies have not been issued or renewed.
The 30-day grace period to renew policies expired for some policyholders at the end of October, meaning they could face partial-risk assessments and higher rates, Carter said.
If Congress does not enact a retroactive reauthorization, any new or renewed policies will only take effect on or after the date the program is reinstated. Policyholders could experience a lapse in coverage, leaving flood losses during that period uninsured.
“The lapse of the National Flood Insurance Program isn’t a partisan problem — it’s a people problem,” said Carter. “Families shouldn’t lose their coverage or face higher premiums because of political gridlock.”
The premiums policyholders pay for flood insurance could go up significantly without a retroactive reauthorization, the congressmen said.
Under FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0, existing policyholders transition gradually to full-risk rates, but lapsed policies must pay those rates immediately upon reauthorization, according to Carter and Ezell’s offices.
“This lapse now threatens the premium increase glidepath guaranteed to legacy NFIP policyholders who have played by the rules,” said Michael Hecht, president & CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc., on behalf of the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance (CSFI). “Our analysis of FEMA data shows that NFIP premiums under Risk Rating 2.0 are rising by over 100% on average and by at least 50% in 41 states.”
Topics Legislation
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