US House of Representatives passes new NFIP legislation

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill reauthorizing and reforming the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The new bill comes shortly after the programme received a new disaster aid package forgiving $16 billion in debt held by the NFIP. The programme is over $30 billion in debt to US taxpayers.

The NFIP provides flood coverage to more than 5.2 million homeowners across the US. The programme was set to expire on Sept. 30 but the deadline has been extended until Dec. 8, 2017.

Lawmakers have now passed a bill to renew and overhaul the NFIP. Called the 21st Century Flood Reform Act, the bill renews the NFIP for five years, updates federal flood mapping requirements, and seeks to bolster a developing private flood insurance market.

Much of the bill focuses on modernizing how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and NFIP assess flood risk.

The proposal calls for technological upgrades to how FEMA maps flood-prone areas and assesses structural risks for areas where flood insurance is mandated. The plan also calls for greater local planning and protection in flood-prone areas.

Furthermore, the plan seeks to give NFIP more financial tools to manage and pay down its debt. The overall reform efforts are focused on lowering flood insurance rates, boosting the private flood insurance market, modernizing flood zone mapping and encouraging flood mitigation practices for homebuilders and land developers.

Lobby group SmarterSafer commented: “This year’s historic hurricane season has pushed the nation’s debt-ridden flood insurance program past the point of bankruptcy once again, so we applaud the House for passing a legislative package that reforms the NFIP to ensure the programme is financially sustainable for the future.”

SmarterSafer claims that the House adopted many of the measures outlined in its NFIP proposal such as investing in mapping and mitigation, addressing affordability and providing consumer choice in the flood insurance marketplace.

As the bill moves to the Senate, the lobby group will work closely to ensure that the final reauthorization package includes additional provisions that require property level data in mapping, nature-based community mitigation measures, continued movement toward risk-based rates and ways to convert affordability assistance into mitigation where cost-effective.

“Putting these reforms into place will help Americans reduce damage from future storms while ensuring that the federal programme remains viable for years to come.”