Congress and President Trump extended the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through December 21, 2018. There is a planned vote prior to midnight on December 21, 2018 that should extend the program at least through May.
The extension of the flood insurance program is now part of a larger spending bill that Congress will be voting on and that the President would need to approve. We will continue to monitor the reauthorization and keep you updated.
Although, we anticipate the program will be reauthorized. In the event a lapse does occur, agents would not be able to issue new insurance policies or increase coverages.
Review some of the basics:
- Everyone that has coverage in force, still has coverage until their next renewal date.
- If your insurance policy is set to renew on or around the date of reauthorization (12/21/2018) and you have received your renewal notice, the insurance carrier is authorized to issue your renewal as long as payment is made before the end of the 30 day grace period.
- Insurance carriers are not allowed to issue any further renewal notices after the date of the program lapse.
- New policies cannot be issued and coverage increases cannot be made to existing policies.
- If a request and payment was received on or before 12/21/18, we can honor these dates and process as normal.
- If the request and/or payment is received after 12/21/18, the insurance carrier is not authorized to issue new policies or coverage. Typically, the insurance carrier will hold the premium until it is reauthorized/approved and then will process. The effective dates will be determined by the reauthorization law.
If you have any questions, please contact us. We are including an informational sheet from FEMA – FAQ for NFIP Lapse. We are monitoring this matter closely and will continue to pass on updated information as it becomes available.
