Obama Signs Flood Insurance Reform Into Law

Understanding the major implications of skyrocketing flood insurance rates, BASE has been working over the past several months in conjunction with the National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of REALTORS, and the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance to push for sustainable reform.

On Friday, March 21, President Obama signed Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (H.R. 3370) into law.

As passed, the bill repeals FEMA’s authority to increase premium rates at time of sale or new flood map, and refunds the excessive premium to those who bought a property before FEMA warned them of the rate increase. The bill limits premium increases to 18% annually on newer properties and 25% for some older ones. Additionally, the bill adds a small assessment on policies until everyone is paying full cost for flood insurance.

For a side-by-side bill summary.

Both the US Senate and House of Representatives worked quickly to move the bill forward, overcome initial opposition and encourage passage.

A special thank you to Sen. Richard Burr, Sen. Kay Hagan and Rep. Mike McIntyre and their offices for their leadership on this issue.