The House Financial Services Committee passed its first round of flood insurance bills to reform and authorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2017. The bills approved included the National Flood Insurance Program Policyholder Protection Act of 2017 (H.R. 2868) and the 21st Century Flood Reform Act of 2017 (H.R. 2874).
The National Flood Insurance Program Policyholder Protection Act, which was introduced by Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) on June 8, is meant to protect NFIP policyholders from unreasonable premium rates and requires the NFIP to consider the unique characteristics of urban properties, among other things.
The bill passed the committee with a 53-0 vote.
The 21st Century Flood Reform Act, which was introduced by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), encountered more opposition, passing the committee by a vote of 30-26.
According to H.R. 2874’s summary, its aim is to do the following: “To achieve reforms to improve the financial stability of the National Flood Insurance Program, to enhance the development of more accurate estimates of flood risk through new technology and better maps, to increase the role of private markets in the management of flood insurance risks, and to provide for alternative methods to insure against flood peril, and for other purposes.”
According to the bill, “eligible households” would be determined as follows:
“During any fiscal year, assistance under the program under this section may be provided only for a household that has an income, as determined for such fiscal year by the participating state in which such household resides, that is less than the income limitation established for such fiscal year for purposes of the state program by the participating state, except that – assistance under the program under this section may not be provided for a household having an income that exceeds the greater of (i) the amount equal to 150 percent of the poverty level for such state; or (ii) the amount equal to 60 percent of the median income of households residing in such state; and
“[A] state may not exclude a household from eligibility in a fiscal year solely on the basis of household income if such income is less than 110 percent of the poverty level for the state in which such household resides.”
Cover Story: