Flood Insurance Bill On the Horizon?
On July 15, 2010, a press release from the House of Representatives indicated that they had passed H.R. 5114, which makes key reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and reauthorizes the flood program for 5 years. Action is still required by the Senate before the reforms take effect.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) stated, “Reauthorizing and improving the flood insurance program helps homeowners, businesses and communities throughout the country…this legislation restores stability to NFIP which it lacked while subject to lapses and only temporary extensions. During lapses in the flood insurance program over the past year, FEMA was not able to write new policies, renew expiring ones or increase coverage limits.”
Improvement to the flood insurance program by phasing in actuarial rates for pre-FIRM properties (those built before the effective date of the first Flood Insurance Rate Map for a community), along with raising the maximum coverage limits, providing notice to renters about content insurance, and establishing a Flood Insurance Advocate (similar to the Taxpayer Advocate at the Internal Revenue Service) is what this new H.R. 5114 is all about.
While these will all be good changes, I think the one we are most excited about is the extension of the NFIP for 5 years. This will create a lot less headaches because you won’t have to be constantly checking if the program has expired.
Published
2010/07/21
David Dickinson
David’s banking career began as a field examiner for the FDIC in 1990. He later became a Compliance Officer and Loan Officer for a small bank. In 1993, he established Banker’s Compliance Consulting. Along with his amazingly talented Team, he has written numerous compliance articles for prestigious banking publications and has developed compliance seminars that Banker’s Compliance Consulting produces.
He is an expert in compliance regulations. He is also a motivational speaker and innovative educator. His quick wit and sense of humor transforms the usually tiring topic of compliance into an enjoyable educational experience. David is on the faculty of the American Bankers Association National Compliance Schools and has served on the faculty of the Center for Financial Training for many years. He also is a frequent speaker at the ABA’s Regulatory Compliance Conference. He is also a trainer for hundreds of webinars, is a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) and has been a BankersOnline Guru for many years. The American Bankers Association honored David with their Distinguished Service Award in 2016.
David and his wife Karen have three adult children, four grandchildren (none of whom live at home!) and two cats (of which Dave is allergic … the cats, not the children!). They recently moved to an acreage outside of Lincoln, Nebraska where he gets to play with his tractor. When possible David can be found fishing, making sawdust in his shop, or playing the guitar and piano. He also enjoys leading worship at his church.