A number of financial services associations, including several representing the insurance industry, have issued a joint letter to congressional leaders urging a long-term reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) before its expiration Sept. 30.

The letter, written to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; and House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, states: "Failure to reauthorize and reform the NFIP by the expiration date would collapse local real estate markets, potentially cost the government billions of dollars in uncompensated relief efforts, and put consumers at risk."

It notes that the NFIP is the main source of protection against flooding for over five million taxpayers, and adds that mortgage loans cannot be secured "without this critical protection."

The letter also maintains that post-disaster relief would be more expensive without NFIP premiums, and points out that Hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike "have already caused significant flood damage, and the United States is only half-way through the hurricane season with several more storms likely."

The letter was signed by the American Insurance Association, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, The Financial Services Roundtable, the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, the Mortgage Bankers of America, and the National Association of Realtors