Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (the "NFIP") to help make flood insurance more affordable in areas prone to flood damage. FEMA oversees the program and writes the terms of the Standard Flood Insurance...more
I had the opportunity this week to attend a National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA) Mentoring Session on the Future [of] Flood Risk Data. This session, offered by NAFSMA in partnership with...more
As we enter the last quarter of a year that saw historic flooding across the country, including most recently in New York City, it is a good time to review the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and highlight a few...more
New York home sellers now must disclose information about flood risk, flood history and flood insurance to potential buyers under legislation recently signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, further amending the requirements of the...more
Back in 2019, we wrote a post about the surprising connection between the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). That post concluded with the following...more
The new year brought a series of ferocious storms that ravaged the California coast for weeks. By mid-January, this so-called “atmospheric river” caused at least eight million Californians to be under flood watch as wind and...more
In the face of winter—and all the wet weather that comes with it—FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program would like everyone to understand the risks of flooding. Flooding has occurred across many parts of the country (yes,...more
Did you know that a residential structure is three times as likely to experience a flood than a fire over the 30-year life of a mortgage? In fact, flooding is the most common type of natural disaster in the United States and...more
For the first time in more than 20 years, FEMA has announced plans to make changes to its Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP). Under the proposal, FEMA would introduce a new Homeowner Flood Form, to be published at 44...more
Congress has reauthorized the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through February 18, 2022. Prior to this most recent temporary reauthorization, the NFIP had been set to expire on December 3, 2021. Since 2017, there...more
Hurricane Ida once again exposed our nation’s severe vulnerability to natural disasters. One-hundred-year storms are now pummeling us on what seems to be an annual basis. The breadth of Ida’s impact was unique, however,...more
After hitting the shores of Louisiana with winds of up to 172mph in late August, Hurricane Ida’s remnants barreled up to the northeastern United States, leaving waves of destruction in its wake. The deluge of rain—more than...more
For the first time in nearly a decade, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Farm Credit Administration, and the National...more
CFPB Takes Steps to Avoid a Possible Wave of Home Mortgage Loan Foreclosures - The CFPB has issued guidance to mortgage servicers, including banks that service mortgage loans for third-party noteholders, that the CFPB...more
On April 1, 2021, FEMA released its highly anticipated flood insurance rating methodology, Risk Rating 2.0-Equity in Action. FEMA first announced “Risk Rating 2.0-Equity in Action” in March 2019 as an effort to improve...more
On April 1, 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released an official announcement (Release Number HQ-21-079) and Memorandum for Write Your Own (WYO) Principal Coordinators and the National Flood Insurance...more
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administers the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP offers insurance coverage for physical losses to buildings and/or contents caused by a flood. Over the years,...more
June 1 marked the start of hurricane season, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Atlantic hurricane season will be a busy one. NOAA predicts a 60% chance of an above-normal season,...more
Climate change is forcing the commercial real estate industry to re-think the effectiveness of flood insurance that developers, lenders and investors have relied on for decades. Rising sea levels and more extreme weather...more
Most people would not associate flood insurance with the protection of endangered species. But over the past decade, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been the target of multiple lawsuits alleging that the...more
President Trump recently declared the flooding throughout the Gulf Coast a National Emergency and pledged federal resources, including FEMA, to assist with the recovery efforts. All the while, one of the linchpins in...more
Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (the "NFIP") to help make flood insurance more affordable in higher-risk areas. FEMA oversees the program and writes the terms of the Standard Flood Insurance Policy...more
There were 442 bills passed by the 115th Congress and signed by the President. Most of these new laws have attracted very little attention, so it may be helpful to review a few of them....more
As previously reported, in early December 2018 Congress passed another short-term extension of the National Flood Insurance Program that was scheduled to expire on December 21, 2018. ...more
Following criticism from industry groups and members of Congress, FEMA has retreated from a December 27 announcement that it would stop issuing new flood policies and renewals during the ongoing partial shutdown of the...more