Congress: Reauthorize national flood insurance

It’s time for Pennsylvania Realtors® to let Congress know how important the National Flood Insurance Program is to homeowners and businesses. NAR launched a Call-for-Action to urge Congress to reauthorize the NFIP.

A quick and strong response is critical because the U.S. House is only in session 12 days before the NFIP’s Sept. 30 deadline.

The NFIP is incredibly important to Pennsylvania property owners. Our state is 12^th in the U.S. in the number of NFIP policies and fifth in the nation in the number of flood claims filed. It touches literally every corner of our state – flood claims have been filed in 66 of the 67 counties in the commonwealth.

The last time the NFIP lapsed, across the country about 1,400 residential and commercial transactions a day were delayed – that’s nearly 40,000 transactions a month!

As I’ve traveled across the state visiting local associations, I’ve heard so many stories about how flood insurance issues affect transactions. One Realtor® told me about a small barn valued at $5,000, which drove the costs of flood insurance up to $50,000. Another told me of homeowners who ended up reducing the listing price of their home by $100,000, because the flood insurance costs were so high that it was difficult to find a buyer. And in yet another community, a house listed at $80,000 was paying more than $4,000 annually for flood insurance. These are just a few of stories fellow Realtors® have shared with me.

Our national association continues to work to help protect our clients. NAR’s Insurance Committee outlined key NFIP reform principles:

• Long-term reauthorization is critical – Without reauthorization, the NFIP cannot issue or renew policies in 22,000 communities where flood insurance is required for a mortgage.
• Accurate flood maps are essential – The NFIP should use modern mapping technology to produce building-specific risk assessments. Currently, property owners bear the burden of amending the maps to remove low-risk buildings from the floodplains.
• Risk mitigation keeps rates affordable – Mitigating, elevating or relocating these properties would save taxpayers four dollars for every one dollar spent.
• Private market options must be included – Enabling consumers to meet federal requirements with a private plan which offers an alternative if they’re faced with overpriced NFIP policies.

NAR reported to members in early July that there were concerns with the seven House bills introduced to address the NFIP, however, NAR was able to remove some concerns in the bills, which are expected to be combined into one package called the 21^st Century Flood Reform Act.

Your quick response to this Call-for-Action is needed. Together, we can make our voices heard to protect homeowners and our industry.