President Obama signed the bipartisan bill into law on Friday, March 21st, 2014
The “Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014,” is now law. The bipartisan bill provides needed relief to many homeowner’s who were unprepared for the sudden and unprecedented rate increases in their flood insurance premiums. Specifically, the new law repeals both Sec. 205 and Sec. 207 of Biggert-Waters of 2013. The bill. sponsored by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) was passed by the House of Representatives on March 4th. On March 13th, the Senate quickly passed the bill making no amendments nor changes to it.
Both the MAIA, the Big “I” and Attorney General Martha Coakley strongly supported the bill. In response to President Obama’s signing the bill into law, Attorney General Martha Coakley issued the following statement:
“I thank President Obama for signing into law bi-partisan legislation that reverses many of the harmful impacts of the Biggert-Waters Act. This will bring much needed relief to communities, homeowners and businesses at a pivotal point in our economic recovery. We have long advocated for relief for communities in flood zones by filing legislation on the state level and by working with our congressional representatives to push for these federal changes. I again thank the Massachusetts congressional delegation for ensuring that our voices were heard in both the Senate and House.”
What now?
As of yet, FEMA has not issued any guidelines on the changes that will be required as a result of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2013. It did, however, make the following statement:
On March 21, 2014, President Obama signed The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 into law.
This law repeals and modifies certain provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, which was enacted in 2012. FEMA looks forward to working with Congress, the private Write Your Own Insurance Companies, and other stakeholders to implement these Congressionally-mandated reforms and to working toward our shared goals of helping families maintain affordable flood insurance, ensuring the financial stability of the NFIP and reducing the risks and consequences of flooding nationwide. FEMA will continue to identify and publish special flood hazards and flood risk zones as authorized and required by Congress.
Resources on this page reflect previous changes to the NFIP from the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (BW-12) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014. Materials will be updated to reflect the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014.
Agents can check on the FEMA website for more information about the National Flood Insurance Program and any changes that will be made to it as a result of this new law.
In addition, The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents, in conjunction with the Big “I” issued the following memorandum for insurance agents on steps they should take in the wake of the “Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2013” being signed into law.
