Legislative Background on Federal Flood Insurance
Recent Action by Congress on Reauthorizing the NFIP
Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1968 to enable property owners in participating communities to purchase insurance protection from the government to cover losses from flooding. The intent was to provide an insurance alternative to the escalating cost of disaster assistance. The program has been amended several times since by reauthorization bills that, among other changes, made the purchase of flood insurance mandatory in “special flood hazard areas” and codified a rating system to encourage communities to exceed minimal Federal requirements for development within floodplains. 2011 Action. In March 2011, the House approved the Flood Insurance…
