US Senate Passes Flood Insurance Reform, Issue Moves to President’s Desk

On the evening of Thursday March 13, the United States Senate voted 72-22 to approve the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (H.R. 3370). The Senate acted quickly to pass the bill as amended by the House to avoid the need for a conference committee to reconcile any differences. The new bill further reins in and holds the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) accountable for the Biggert-Waters implementation issues.

President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law when it arrives at the White House.

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. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law when it arrives at the White House.

For additional resources and information please visit the following link and click on one of the side-by-side comparisons below:

NAR Issue Brief: Flood Insurance Side by Side Comparison

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.

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

404_HR 3370 section by section 3-4-14

404_HR3370 Section-by-Section 3-5-2014

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *