As hurricane seasons ramps up, flood insurance program set to expire
“It’s not going to be easy, but as a general rule the party that’s in power wants to act on these things while they still have the gavel,” said R.J. Lehmann, director of finance, insurance and trade policy for the R Street Institute and a member of the NFIP-focused SmarterSafer coalition.
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Lehmann of R Street said the most likely scenario before July 31 is the passage of another extension. It might last six months, as Kennedy proposed, or through October. That would give Congress another opportunity to make changes to the program.
But advocacy groups such as the SmarterSafer coalition, which has sought NFIP reforms for years, argue that another short-term extension does not provide homeowners with the long-term certainty they need to make decisions about properties that are at risk of flooding.
“Continuous short-term extensions do not provide the certainty or the reforms the program needs,” the coalition, comprising conservation groups, taxpayer advocates, insurance companies and housing advocates, said in a letter sent yesterday to Republican and Democratic Senate leaders.
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“There’s obviously a lot of risk out there that needs to be insured, and the federal government alone isn’t going to be able to do it,” Lehmann said.
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