Congress Passes Flood Insurance, President Expected to Sign

NFIP will continue renewing or issuing new flood insurance policies for four more months under legislation overwhelmingly passed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON – August 1, 2018 – The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) won't expire on July 31, 2018, as feared. NFIP will continue renewing or issuing new flood insurance policies for four more months under legislation overwhelmingly passed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

The bill, which cleared the House last week, is expected to be signed into law before midnight by the president to avoid any lapse in the national flood program.

"We applaud lawmakers for taking this needed action to prevent disruptions to closings in thousands of communities across the country," says National Association of Realtors® (NAR) President Elizabeth Mendenhall.

The four-month extension does not change NFIP operations. It simply extends the current guidelines to give Congress more time to work on a comprehensive package that deals with the complex issues of affordability with a program that is deeply in debt.

"Although the program is now extended through Nov. 30, the NFIP is in desperate need of reforms that will make the program solvent and sustainable for the long term," says Mendenhall. "The National Association of Realtors will continue fighting for these reforms."

Realtors have been urging extension of the program for months. Almost 125,000 Realtors – about 15 percent of NAR's membership – contacted their representatives in Congress in support of the extension through NAR's Call for Action.

© 2018 Florida Realtors®. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.