NFIP Now Headed Towards Lapse As of the writing of this message, Congress has not yet extended the National Flood Insurance Program, which expires at midnight on Friday, December 21st. The current political situation is complicated. Presently, the US Senate has proposed an extension to February 8th of Federal Government spending, which includes an extension of the NFIP. The bill was sent to the US House of Representatives where it was originally going to pass tonight. However, the President has now said he will not sign a bill without funding for immigration security. The House is now proposing different options. Without a quick compromise, the NFIP is set to lapse. This lapse will most likely last past Christmas. This is an active situation. This is not a new situation, as this will be the third short term extension in the month of December. As a reminder, the MCC has created consumer guidance for you as an insured to know what to do before, during and after a flood program expiration. Overall, our guidance outlines that: -If you have a flood policy renewing after December 7th, and within the next few weeks, either pay it now or ask for the renewal statement […]

MCC Introduces Suite of Flood Risk Services The Massachusetts Coastal Coalition’s Know Flood suite of services brings flood risk information to your fingertips. These services are designed to meet the needs of realtors, lenders, policy holders and residential and commercial applications where flood information can affect everyday life. “Know Flood Mapping” Service Knowing your flood risk is now as easy as entering an address. The Know Flood Mapping Service has the entire nation’s digital flood maps online. Simply enter your address in the search bar, and the map pins your building’s location.  This is available on our home page at www.knowflood.org “Know Flood Zone” Determination The Know Flood Zone determination is a guaranteed product, which means we guarantee our accuracy to officially determine what flood zone you are in. This is the same tool lenders use to decide if you are “in or out” of the high risk flood zone. This is an ideal tool for real estate professionals looking to inform potential sellers and buyers. Along with our guaranteed determination comes our “Massive” report, which is one of the most comprehensive flood information reports available. It shows a map of your property, tells you the next closest flood zone, estimated ground […]

The House and Senate have passed a bill to extend the NFIP for one week in order to avert a lapse in the program. The 7 day extension will tie the NFIP to the broader federal spending bill (A continuing resolution) which is set to expire on December 7th. The one week extension bill has been passed to the President for signature. The Senate also passed S. 3628, a clean six-month extension for NFIP, that has now been referred to the House. We will be sending updates next week on the status of the NFIP.

NFIP Could Possibly Lapse This Friday As of the writing of this message, Congress has not yet extended the National Flood Insurance Program, which expires at midnight on Friday, November 30th. There is currently no clear path forward, but experts are “cautiously optimistic” a deal will be struck in Congress to avoid an NFIP lapse.  This will continue to be an issue as Congress intends to only pass short term extensions for the foreseeable future. There are three possible paths forward as of writing this update: -A lapse of the NFIP -A 7 day extension to align the NFIP with Federal appropriations -A 6 Month extension to allow for appropriate reforms FEMA has issued guidance for insurance companies on how to handle writing new flood policies, policy renewals, and claims during a flood program expiration. The MCC has created consumer guidance for you as an insured to know what to do before, during and after a flood program expiration. Overall, our guidance outlines that: -If you have a flood policy renewing after November 30th, and within the next few weeks, either pay it now or ask for the renewal statement (billed renewals can be paid during a NFIP lapse) -If you are planning to […]