Over 80 Communities at Risk of Losing NFIP Insurability
FEMA published the list of 86 communities that will lose eligibility to purchase Flood Insurance on July 6
On Tuesday, May 24, 2016, FEMA published a list of 86 communities that would lose the ability to purchase Flood Insurance under the National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”) if specific actions were not taken by July 6, 2016. 44 CFR Part 59 requires that communities communities meet certain floodplain management measures before the effective date of the suspension (which are all dated July 6, 2016 for the current list).
The NIFP allows homeowners to purchase flood insurance that is normally not available through private insurance firms if their communities adopt appropriate floodplain management measures. These measures must include both measures to manage the floodplain and enforce those measures. These measures must be in compliance with 42 USC § 4102 (Criteria for Land Management and Use).
If a community does not address the issues that FEMA notified them of before the suspension, no federal finical assistance may be provided for “construction or acquisition of buildings in identified [Special Flood Hazard Areas]. This means, current policy holders could likely to keep their insurance; while new homeowners would face the possibility of not having the same insurability. This prohibition does not impact financial assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act not in connection with a flood though.
The 86 communities on the current list are in the states of Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Mexico. To view the whole list, visit the Federal Register pages 32661-32664 by clicking here.