On Tuesday, July 31, President Trump signed a four-month extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) into law.
As has been the case several times this year, the NFIP was set to expire on 7/31/2018 if congress did not step up and renew the program. Though the House of Representatives had passed the renewal a while back, the Senate did not extend the program until the last minute before the program was set to expire - at midnight on 7/31/18. This short term, temporary extension is the seventh extension in less than a year and renews the NFIP through November 30, 2018.
In years past, multiple temporary extensions are a result of lawmakers looking to revamp the NFIP, which can result in significant changes to flood insurance rules. In an article published by the Tampa Bay Times, it appears that lawmakers are again having concerns about the program:
“While this four-month extension was crucial, we cannot keep kicking the can down the road and delaying much needed reforms,” Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said in the Times article.
For compliance professionals, this should be a warning flag that more changes to flood insurance laws - and subsequently, the rules - may be coming in the not so distant future.
