Congress Extends flood insurance to May 31

WASHINGTON – April 16, 2010 – Congress approved an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) yesterday and President Obama signed it into law within the hour. The change, part of a larger bill that covered unemployment, extends the flood insurance program to May 31, 2010; and coverage is retroactive to March 28 when the current program ran out.The extension is a patch for the program, and current bills in Congress would solidify the flood program and extend coverage beyond a few months. H.R. 4213, if passed, would extend flood insurance coverage through Dec. 31, 2010.“In theory, the NFIP will now return to normal operations and, since the extension is also retroactive, any new policy applications or renewals that were signed and submitted during the hiatus will be effective from the date of application (or in the case of waiting periods, the waiting period will start from the date of application),” say officials of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America.The flood insurance extension was part of a larger bill that extends unemployment insurance benefits to June 2.Source: National Underwriter, Arthur D. Postal, April 16, 2010© 2010 Florida Realtors®