ABA today welcomed a set of draft principles for reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program released by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee’s Housing and Insurance Subcommittee. Without congressional action, the NFIP is set to expire in September 2017.
Among Luetkemeyer’s principles are ensuring sound fiscal footing for the NFIP; providing increased transparency, stronger public/private partnerships and greater consumer choice in the flood insurance market; providing a more open insurance rate-setting process; and making needed changes to mitigation and mapping processes.
“We are particularly pleased that Chairman Luetkemeyer is focused on ensuring stability in the NFIP by beginning the reauthorization early and avoiding any risk of the lapses in the program authority that have harmed borrowers and lenders in the past,” said ABA EVP James Ballentine. The association also applauded Leutkemeyer’s focus on encouraging a robust private flood insurance market and the development of risk transfer mechanisms to limit taxpayer liability, as well as his proposal to eliminate mandatory NFIP coverage for large commercial properties.
