NU Online News Service, June 3, 1:56 p.m.EDT

Reacting to the ticking clock and pressure from multipleindustries, the Senate Banking Committee will take the first steptoward reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)when it holds a hearing on the issue on June 9.

Summing up the sense of urgency within the industry for thelegislation, Blain Rethmeier, a spokesman for the AmericanInsurance Association (AIA), says, "Before we know it, Sept. 30will be here and the NFIP will have reached the end of its currentextension."

He adds that it is "good that the Senate has scheduled thishearing and can begin its debate so everyone isn't working upagainst a deadline. The goal remains passing a bill thatincludes a long-term extension and provides meaningful reforms tothe program."

Charles Symington, senior vice president for government affairsfor the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America(IIABA), adds: "The clock is ticking with the looming expiration onSept. 30, and time is of the essence. We hope that thishearing will serve as a springboard for Senate legislative actionin the near future."

A notice sent late June 2 from the committee chairman, Sen. TimJohnson (D-S.D.) states that William Fugate, administrator of theFederal Emergency Management Agency, will testify at thehearing.

The notice also says that other witnesses may testify.

The current reauthorization of the program expires Sept. 30. TheNFIP has been reauthorized on an interim basis 10 times since thecurrent program's reauthorization first expired Sept. 30, 2008.

The House is scheduled to vote either next week or the weekafter on its version of an NFIP extension, H.R. 1309, the FloodInsurance Reform Act of 2011. It would reauthorize the programuntil Sept. 30, 2016, and would reform and revise the existingprogram.

But legislation introduced just before Memorial Day in theSenate is significantly different because it would split thedifference on the sensitive "wind-vs.-water" issue.

That bill, introduced by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) wouldcreate a "standardized loss allocation" system to distribute lossesbetween the NFIP and private or residual-market-provided windinsurance following the total loss of any property that carriesboth flood and wind insurance.

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC)opposes the Wicker bill.

Jimi Grande, senior vice president of federal and politicalaffairs for NAMIC, reiterates opposition to the Wicker proposal inhis reaction to the Senate hearing. "We expect AdministratorFugate's testimony will be very similar to what he told the Housecommittee: that the NFIP is a necessary program, but one in need ofsignificant reform," Grande says.

"NAMIC has laid out a series of proposals that, if implemented,would move the NFIP toward firmer financial standing and ensurethat every homeowner who faces the risk of flooding can obtaincoverage. Through risk-based pricing, modernized flood-plainmapping and increased mitigation, the program will be better ableto fulfill its mission without adding to the taxpayers'burden."