Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends flood insurance requirements for owners of at-risk property.

Highlights:

• Authorizes the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to enter into and renew flood insurance policies through fiscal year 2022 (Sec. 101).
• Prohibits NFIP flood insurance for any multiple-loss property for which the aggregate amount in claims exceeds twice the amount of the replacement value of the structure, effective 18 months after the enactment of this bill (Sec. 505).
• Authorizes states to create a flood insurance affordability program to assist eligible owner-occupants of single family 1-4 unit residences who are unable to pay for their property’s required flood insurance due to their income (Sec. 103).
• Specifies that eligibility for assistance is limited to policyholders with incomes below 150% of the state poverty level or 60% of the state area median income (Sec. 103).
• Specifies that assistance can be in the form of (Sec. 103):
• Capping the amount of chargeable risk premium paid; or
• Limiting the amount of premium increase on an annualized basis.
• Requires subsidy costs of a state to be recouped through an equally distributed surcharge on all other policyholders within that state (Sec. 103).
• Authorizes residential property owners to establish flood damage savings accounts in lieu of complying with the mandatory requirements to purchase flood insurance (Sec. 205).
• Decreases the cap on annual rate increases from 18% to 15%, and increases the minimum average chargeable risk premium, within a single risk classification, from 5% to 8% (Sec. 102).
• Requires FEMA to disclose to all policyholders the flood risks of their property, the number and cost of claims that have been filed over the life of the property, and the effect that filing any future claims would have on the cost of insurance for that property (Sec. 107).
• Defines a new “multiple-loss property” term to cover all at-risk properties and divides such properties into the 3 following categories (Sec. 504):
• Repetitive-loss property, which has at least 2 claims of any amount;
• Severe repetitive loss property, which has 4 or more claims that accumulate $20,000 or more; and
• Extreme repetitive-loss property, which has at least 2 claims that accumulate at least 150% of the maximum coverage available for the property.
• Specifies that any multiple-loss property not paying full risk rates will be subject to a subsidy phase-out at an annual rate of 15% per year (Sec. 504).
• Specifies that severe repetitive-loss and extreme repetitive loss properties will be subject to a minimum deductible of $5,000 (Sec. 504).
• Authorizes policyholders to remove, through an appeals process, their property from a special flood hazard area on a FEMA-created flood insurance map when a new elevation level or other mitigating flood factor arises (Sec. 302).
• Specifies that in the case of a successful appeal, a property owner may cancel their policy and be refunded for the past 2 years of premiums that they were required to pay due to their property’s location on a FEMA flood map (Sec. 302).
• Specifies that FEMA-created flood maps become final if there are no appeals during the 90-day period following the second publication of such maps (Sec. 303).
• Increases the civil penalties on federally regulated lenders for failure to comply with the NFIP’s mandatory purchase requirements from $2,000 to $5,000 (Sec. 507).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text