NU Online News Service, Jan. 2, 11:42 a.m.EST

With the National Flood Insurance Program finally providedbreathing space until May 31 through one of President Obama's lastactions of 2011 on Dec. 23, industry officials now say one of theirtop priorities in the New Year is to ensure the latest short-termextension is the last.

Obama signed H.R. 2055, the "Consolidated Appropriations Act,"(known as the mini-bus), around noon Dec. 23.

The bill had been passed by Congress the prior Friday, but delays in gettingit printed by House staff officials had prompted a series ofshort-term extensions that would have allowed the program to lapseat midnight Friday, Dec. 23, without presidential action.

The latest extension means that, since 2002, there have been 15last-minute reauthorizations of the NFIP, and on four occasions theprogram was allowed to lapse for extended periods of time.

In response to the latest action, Charles E. Symington Jr.,senior vice president for government affairs for the IndependentInsurance Agents and Brokers of America, says, "[This] year theIIABA will continue to make the case for a long-term extension ofthe NFIP that includes necessary reforms."

Symington adds, "We are hopeful that the bipartisan legislationreported by the Senate Banking Committee to the full Senate will beconsidered on the Senate floor early enough in 2012 to give theHouse and Senate time to reconcile their versions of reform by theend of May."

Based on what has happened over the last few weeks, industrylobbyists say that the Senate is unwilling to sign off on the Houseversion of reform legislation that would extend the NFIP untilSept. 30, 2016, and want some changes made to the House bill.

"There are specific concerns with provisions in the House bill,plus provisions that individual senators want included in any finallegislation," one industry lobbyist says.

The two versions contain many similarities as well. Oneprovision in both bills would allow the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency to buy private reinsurance as a means of reducingthe government's exposure to additional losses.

The bills also tighten subsidies provided under the current NFIPauthorization legislation.

But industry officials are voicing concerns about provisions inboth bills that would allow the Federal Emergency Management Agencygreater flexibility in paying its bills.

The greatest concern is with the Senate bill, which would givehomeowners the option of paying "either annually or in morefrequent installments."

Officials of National Flood Services, which serves as theprocessor for 54 of the 83 Write-Your-Own companies, say in aletter to the Senate that the provision "would be a disaster."

The House version is "open-ended," providing the FederalEmergency Management Agency, which administers the NFIP, theflexibility to allow homeowners to pay annually, quarterly ormonthly, "whatever FEMA wants."