Post by KingOfPain on Jun 12th, 2010 at 1:47pm
Congressional delay puts flood insurance policies in jeopardy
Posted on June 9, 2010
Updated Thursday, Jun 10
HOUSTON – A delay by Congress is keeping potentially millions of homeowners from either getting new flood insurance policies or renewing old ones.
The U.S. Senate allowed the National Flood Insurance Program to expire on May 31.
"I opened this letter yesterday, and I was devastated," said Houston resident Bertie Wright. Her insurance company informed her that her renewal payment, which she sent a day after the expiration, could not be processed until Congress reauthorized the NFIP.
"I couldn't sleep last night, worrying about it, because I know we are in hurricane season since June 1st. And it scared me because of Ike," Wright said.
Congress created the NFIP in 1968. It required local communities to plan for floods. In exchange, the government would provide insurance. FEMA runs the program, but it’s distributed by local insurance companies.
Its hiatus is causing concern among many residents in the Houston area.
"I think it's a huge deal, especially in Harris County,” said Jim Blackburn, a Houston attorney who specializes in flood insurance cases. “We have one of the largest flooding problems of any county in the United States."
The NFIP covers roughly 5.5 million homes across the country, but many of them are in Texas and Florida.
Courtney Sanders, a spokesperson for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, said she expects the Senate to vote on the extension by the end of this week as part of a broader legislative package.
Sanders said lawmakers vote to extend the program every few years, although she wasn’t sure why this vote has been delayed so long, or why senators waited until hurricane season had already begun.
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FEMA has posted this infromation on its website.
NFIP Reauthorization Guidance
The NFIP will not be reauthorized by Congress by midnight of May 31, 2010. Therefore, the Program will experience a hiatus – a period without authority to:
•issue new policies for which application and premium payment dates are on or after June 1, 2010, or
•issue increased coverage on existing policies for which endorsement and premium payment dates are on or after June 1, 2010, or
•issue renewal policies for which the renewal premium is received by the company on or after June 1, 2010, and after the end of the 30-day renewal grace period, until Congress reauthorizes the Program.
While awaiting Congressional reauthorization, FEMA is issuing the guidance contained in the attached bulletin (PDF 92KB, TXT 21KB). Within this bulletin, is a set of Frequently Asked Questions concerning NFIP authorization to help you in communicating with your insurance agents and policyholders.
The hiatus period is expected to end soon. We will inform you when the NFIP is again authorized to sell new policies, issue increase coverage on existing policies, or issue renewal policies.
START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to or END PRINTPAGE
Posted on June 9, 2010
Updated Thursday, Jun 10
HOUSTON – A delay by Congress is keeping potentially millions of homeowners from either getting new flood insurance policies or renewing old ones.
The U.S. Senate allowed the National Flood Insurance Program to expire on May 31.
"I opened this letter yesterday, and I was devastated," said Houston resident Bertie Wright. Her insurance company informed her that her renewal payment, which she sent a day after the expiration, could not be processed until Congress reauthorized the NFIP.
"I couldn't sleep last night, worrying about it, because I know we are in hurricane season since June 1st. And it scared me because of Ike," Wright said.
Congress created the NFIP in 1968. It required local communities to plan for floods. In exchange, the government would provide insurance. FEMA runs the program, but it’s distributed by local insurance companies.
Its hiatus is causing concern among many residents in the Houston area.
"I think it's a huge deal, especially in Harris County,” said Jim Blackburn, a Houston attorney who specializes in flood insurance cases. “We have one of the largest flooding problems of any county in the United States."
The NFIP covers roughly 5.5 million homes across the country, but many of them are in Texas and Florida.
Courtney Sanders, a spokesperson for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, said she expects the Senate to vote on the extension by the end of this week as part of a broader legislative package.
Sanders said lawmakers vote to extend the program every few years, although she wasn’t sure why this vote has been delayed so long, or why senators waited until hurricane season had already begun.
START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to
or END PRINTPAGEFEMA has posted this infromation on its website.
NFIP Reauthorization Guidance
The NFIP will not be reauthorized by Congress by midnight of May 31, 2010. Therefore, the Program will experience a hiatus – a period without authority to:
•issue new policies for which application and premium payment dates are on or after June 1, 2010, or
•issue increased coverage on existing policies for which endorsement and premium payment dates are on or after June 1, 2010, or
•issue renewal policies for which the renewal premium is received by the company on or after June 1, 2010, and after the end of the 30-day renewal grace period, until Congress reauthorizes the Program.
While awaiting Congressional reauthorization, FEMA is issuing the guidance contained in the attached bulletin (PDF 92KB, TXT 21KB). Within this bulletin, is a set of Frequently Asked Questions concerning NFIP authorization to help you in communicating with your insurance agents and policyholders.
The hiatus period is expected to end soon. We will inform you when the NFIP is again authorized to sell new policies, issue increase coverage on existing policies, or issue renewal policies.
START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to
or END PRINTPAGE