Legislation has been introduced in Congress that would phase out the National Flood Insurance Program by the end of 2013.
Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., introduced the legislation, H.R. 435, which would also immediately end all remapping of the program mandated by prior reauthorizations of the program.
The authority to charge more to current customers is based on the new maps that had been mandated by the 2003 law that remains in effect.
Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., chair of the Capital Markets Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee, which has prime jurisdiction over NFIP, also acknowledged early last week that Congress may take a long look at the program.
During an appearance at a housing conference Monday, Rep. Garrett said, "The government's history in pricing risk is extremely poor," citing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Flood Insurance Program, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. as three entities with "terrible records of properly pricing for risk."
The current program expires Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year. The program has been extended five times, with several lapses. Charles Symington, senior vice president of government affairs for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, said that extension of the NFIP will be a top priority of the association this year.
"Much like the past two years, we don't expect getting the program reauthorized will be easy," Mr. Symington said. "However, the program is absolutely essential to ensure that consumers obtain the coverage for flood loss that they need," he added.
He acknowledged that "it has been tough the last two years to get extensions, and you can put on top of that the focus on reducing the federal government, on budget-cutting; it just makes the job more difficult."
He said that while the IIABA would like to see additional reforms to the program, the top priority is getting it extended.
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