Newsroom

June 15, 2017

House Financial Services approves NFIP bill, mark-up continues next week

The House Financial Service Committee approved legislation yesterday to reauthorize and scale back the National Flood Insurance Program and agreed to continue its mark-up next Wednesday when it plans to take up five other related bills.

The committee voted 30-26 to advance a bill by Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., that would reform NFIP processes while also moving towards a more private approach to flood insurance.

The bill, which was revised by a 20-page amendment from Duffy, would phase out government-backed coverage for new construction in high-risk areas and cap compensation for insurance firms participating in the NFIP's "Write Your Own" program.

Duffy's amendment would establish a "Flood Insurance Clearinghouse" intended to fill in the gap for properties that could lose NFIP coverage under the bill.

The committee's Republicans rejected an amendment by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., that would have replaced the bill with a bipartisan flood insurance proposal introduced this week by Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and John Kennedy, R-La.

The committee voted 53-0 to approve a bill introduced by Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., to limit premium increases for residential properties to $10,000 per year, a provision supported by NAFCU.

NAFCU has pushed for a number of improvements to the NFIP, including increases in coverage limits, and capping premiums and rates. In a letter to the committee Tuesday, NAFCU Vice President of Government Relations Brad Thaler said the association supports long-term authorization for the program but is concerned about proposals that would drastically increase NFIP privatization efforts. He said privatization could lead to cherry-picking of low-risk policies, raising premiums on those who could least afford it.