Skip to content

Flood Insurance Program Extended

Congress has extended the National Flood Insurance Program through the beginning of March 2009.

“While we would have preferred that Congress pass a long-term extension with much-needed reforms, it was vital to ensure that the NFIP would not lapse on Sept. 30,” David A. Sampson, president and chief executive officer of the Des Plaines, Ill.-based Property Casualty Insurers Assn. of America, said in a statement.

“If the program were to expire, real estate transactions in flood-prone areas would come to a halt,” he added. “Given the economic challenges our nation already faces, we could not take the chance of allowing this vital program to expire.” “We would have preferred passage of a long-term reauthorization bill that also contained much needed reforms of the NFIP,” Marc Racicot, president of the Washington-based American Insurance Assn., said in a statement. “While this extension does not fix the NFIP’s problems, it does help those living in flood-prone areas by making sure coverage continues to be available. A short term extension to keep the federal flood program in place is the most prudent action for Congress to take.”