National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Re-authorization
Amy Fennell • July 24, 2017
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
is set to expire on September 30th without Congressional action. NAR estimates that past lapses of the NFIP have delayed or cancelled 1,400 transactions a day. NFIP was created in 1968, and has about 5 million active policies in existence in all 50 states and over 21,0000 communities. Louisiana has the third most policies active with over 450,000 properties covered following Florida with around 1.8 million policies and Texas with just over 600,000 policies in force. The program presently is in debt to the United States treasury by approximately $25 Billion. This certainly creates a concern for the sustainability of the program.
During the past month, there has been a lot of activity on Capitol Hill. NAR has been actively engaged in trying to shape various pieces of legislation in accordance with NARs flood insurance policy principles.
Louisiana has been very well represented by the Congressional delegation along with broker David McKey of Coldwell Banker One in Baton Rouge who currently serves as the Chair of the NAR Insurance Committee. His committee along with NAR staff have been rallying the key people in Washington toward the program's re-authorization. View the following video for a great recap of where we stand and what will be happening as we near the re-authorization deadline.
From the Louisiana Department of Insurance: Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple announced today that the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) continues its work to develop a regulation creating benchmark discounts for Fortified roofs in Louisiana. The LDI is working with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to develop the benchmark discounts using Louisiana-specific data, hurricane modeling and actuarial considerations. “With over 11,000 Fortified roofs in Louisiana and two years-worth of insurer experience with rating for those roofs in our state, now is an appropriate time for the LDI to establish benchmark discounts for homeowners insurance companies operating in our market,” said Commissioner Temple. “These benchmarks are being thoughtfully developed to help consumers receive the discounts they deserve for fortifying their homes while making sure insurers know the benchmarks reflect how much Fortified roofs actually mitigate their exposure to risk across Louisiana.” Like in Alabama’s Fortified benchmark discount structure, the LDI regulation would require Louisiana insurance companies to either meet the minimum benchmark discount established by the LDI or provide actuarial justification for why the company’s discount does not meet the benchmark. Louisiana is the fastest growing state for Fortified roofs in America. To date, over 11,000 Fortified roofs have been installed in Louisiana, including over 4,100 through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program.
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