NAMIC Wants Congress to Reform NFIP

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) on Friday called on members of Congress to set aside partisan differences and enact common sense reforms for the National Flood Insurance Program before it expires again on May 31.

Source: Source: NAMIC | Published on April 19, 2010

"The NFIP has already been allowed to lapse twice this year, first for a few days and then for weeks, because of unrelated political squabbles. Clearly this is an untenable situation,” said Jimi Grande, senior vice president of federal and political affairs for NAMIC. “It’s an embarrassment that five years after Hurricane Katrina we still have not fixed the NFIP. With hurricane season starting in a matter of weeks, Congress needs to use this time to pass a long term NFIP extension with sensible reforms that both sides of the aisle can agree on.”

NAMIC has consistently supported legislation that would modernize the nation’s flood maps to better determine where coverage is necessary for homeowners, phase in actuarially sound rates, and phase out subsidized coverage for secondary homes and investment properties. These bipartisan solutions have been held up due to the issue of adding windstorm coverage to the program, which NAMIC strongly opposes.

“Adding windstorm coverage to the NFIP would more than undo the benefits of other reforms and ensure that the program will never be financially stable” Grande said. “As we’ve seen recently in New England, flooding can happen anywhere at any time. The American people need a National Flood Insurance Program that is stable, solvent and there when they need it.”