The House today unanimously voted to pass H.R. 2901, the Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act. The bill — which is supported by both ABA and the American Bankers Insurance Association — provides consumers with private sector alternatives to the National Flood Insurance Program.
Having such alternatives will increase competition and help drive down flood insurance costs, enhancing consumer protection against flood damages in mortgage markets and ensuring that more borrowers can be covered by flood insurance. It is also expected to help return the taxpayer-funded NFIP to more robust financial condition.
“Regulatory hurdles have for too long prevented real competition in the flood insurance market,” ABA and ABIA wrote in a memo to House representatives on Monday. “H.R. 2901… is important legislation that seeks to clarify that private insurance is to be treated the same as federal flood insurance in cases where homeowners with federally-backed mortgages are required to buy the coverage. This bipartisan legislation will ensure that borrowers have more options to buy private flood insurance and will make flood insurance more affordable and more broadly available.”
