[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},"mediaId",6253870,"mediaKeyId","3177763-bd3030115c1cba46915b6bd6308c0473","parentId",3177763,"title","Industry and senators warn against privatizing National Flood Insurance Program; say NFIP plays unique mapping and risk role","audioSeconds",6436,"startMs",1713000,"endMs",8149000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3177763-bd3030115c1cba46915b6bd6308c0473&start=1713&end=8149","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3177763-bd3030115c1cba46915b6bd6308c0473/thumbnail_1713000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6253870/Industry-and-senators-warn-against-privatizing-National-Flood-Insurance-Program-say-NFIP-plays-unique-mapping-and-risk-role","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6253870-8930965f624eb7daf85efc501151ed9a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771097883&Signature=B-ygq6~FBzMsZBmVDcpzdpgGiGHHP8BRb3gY93v7pFZBnok29NXonp-c88FzIyl7v04NHOp2y6b4Q1eguIHUH4-TSu~RZIotBBSd5cn-a4~kWsoCVPSMvSHy4VTsP3Mg~6q-ozCuRstzCnJf3k2hvI6aZCmgIm0pG9kFpJ0PyQEuQHTuAh~L-~KS-a4GCVOOZI4Ck3tvQECFXYiNoyrlISpk8j5xPIrjmuuZcVGcrP6dOtmQ-txRMcEjaWWsEX~BtLvL9hGVJpFl-yx6jZi3huzMuY9MGdfNK~Pkjddp21NyH9ukkxd5sRv3knaeYYkS7iXBWOppI840YZXOuCn2yA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs","date","2025-05-01T00:00:00Z","article","Industry witnesses and several senators at the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing warned that eliminating or fully privatizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) would pose significant affordability and implementation challenges for homeowners and communities.

Robert Gordon, senior vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, told the committee that flood is the most common disaster risk and that the NFIP currently supports about 4.7 million policyholders. \"Short answer is no,\" Gordon said when asked whether the private market could immediately absorb NFIP's book of business while keeping premiums lower for consumers. He added that the NFIP runs at a significant debt level and that private-sector prices would in many cases be much higher than current NFIP rates.

Gordon described the NFIP as more than an insurer: it provides flood mapping, floodplain-management incentives and standards that private insurers do not replicate at scale. He told senators the NFIP is roughly $22 billion in debt after prior federal forgiveness and that the program's subsidized pricing and public functions mean a wholesale privatization would be complex and costly.

Committee members said the NFIP's series of short-term reauthorizations has created uncertainty for homeowners and local governments. One committee member said they and Senator Kennedy are working on legislation to reauthorize and reform the NFIP to promote solvency, transparency, affordability, mitigation and consumer protection.

The witnesses recommended a combination of approaches to improve flood insurance outcomes: better homeowner education to expand voluntary private coverage where appropriate; long-term NFIP reauthorization with targeted reforms and means-testing for federal subsidies; and continued federal investment in mapping and community floodplain management to reduce systemic risk.

The committee did not vote on NFIP legislation during the hearing; senators requested additional data and committed to follow-up questions and potential legislative proposals.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Examining Insurance Markets and the Role of Mitigation Policies ","oneSentenceSummary","Industry representatives told the Senate committee that the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) supports millions of homeowners, provides mapping and community floodplain management, and that full privatization would be difficult to implement and would likely raise costs for many policyholders.","taxTitle","Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Senate Committee, Standing Committees - House & Senate, Congressional Hearings Compilation, Legislative, Federal","taxId",1988,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6253874,"Lake County supervisor: federal mitigation funding freezes and BRIC cuts leave wildfire-hit communities 'dead in the water'",5419,2781000,8200000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3177763-bd3030115c1cba46915b6bd6308c0473&start=2781&end=8200","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3177763-bd3030115c1cba46915b6bd6308c0473/thumbnail_2781000.jpg","/articles/6253874/Lake-County-supervisor-federal-mitigation-funding-freezes-and-BRIC-cuts-leave-wildfire-hit-communities-dead-in-the-water","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6253874-71498d4d4ca744b5de7f66201f024755/orig.mp4?Expires=1771097883&Signature=JVpz4uQpPFBdFaTDZLgqL~QWA6SYiETjRrK~wwM0dxSS9ClXgUACFZWNUJhjCfcj2gtWk9CMaVjbrCVvCswMgbDjQZ9ElfbqUBX9wgeNI8oItQ~BwZUeBhz353M2bhQuA3JmWV1wqpX0VGWmheXddJk0gsy0inUi6H-iehN30Tk5rFA8G~-kAJp2V7kdg7shc7yg8BL1hOFIYGXrzRqe5EOBj8mQFYKPPlxMg6xsFpz036V-ucSXD6oLCXyicG~rKIa6KwFoC3-rQaQ1y8I1UByyXk~~73D2487jhmAqp2T33yZvdbilZMoSmaD9S6GwB-4sqzo0IhRPkehNmVLbYg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Jessica Paiske, supervisor for Lake County, California, told the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee that her county has faced repeated catastrophic wildfires and that federal mitigation grants and BRIC funding have been essential to recovery and resilience efforts — and that recent freezes and proposed cuts are halting projects now ready to implement.

Why it matters: Local officials said federal mitigation grants fund workforce, forest-health projects, defensible space work and home-hardening programs that lower long-term risk and help preserve local housing markets and property-tax bases.

Paiske described long-term local effects from the 2015 Valley Fire: \"The Valley Fire burned 76,000 acres, nearly 2,000 structures and claimed 4 lives. I lost my home in most of my community that day,\" she said in testimony. She added that 70 percent of Lake County has burned since then and the county has lost 5.5 percent of its housing stock.

Paiske said federal grants have financed a range of mitigation actions — fuels management, fire breaks, defensible space, home hardening, evacuation-route improvements and watershed restoration — but that some grants are currently inaccessible. \"We have $14,000,000 that was awarded under CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) that was awarded last fall that is currently frozen,\" Paiske said, adding that the freeze prevents planned mitigation from moving forward and wastes critical time ahead of fire season.

Paiske described a county pilot to \"cluster-harden\" older housing in Kelseyville Riviera: the county proposes investing about $55,000 per home for roughly 350 homes so that science-based home hardening raises survivability for the whole community and improves insurability for surrounding properties.

She and other witnesses warned committee members that small, rural counties face grant-match and administrative barriers that make it hard to access some FEMA and state mitigation programs. Several senators and witnesses said federal programs such as BRIC and CDBG are indispensable for small counties because they cover planning and match requirements that local governments cannot easily fund.

Officials and witnesses urged improvements including simpler application paths for smaller counties, sustained federal funding for BRIC and CDBG disaster-relief grants, and targeted federal support to scale neighborhood-level retrofits so insurers can underwrite improved risk.

Paiske added that her county has a high proportion of seniors and households in poverty and that vacant homes and landlord exits driven by rising insurance costs threaten property-tax revenue and local services. \"Landlords are leaving the rental market because they cannot absorb skyrocketing insurance costs,\" she testified.

The committee heard Paiske’s account alongside testimony from industry and mitigation experts who advocated verified retrofit standards and incentives. Paiske and other local leaders asked senators to preserve and expand federal mitigation funding to keep communities from slipping into long-term decline after repeated disasters.","Jessica Paiske, a Lake County, California supervisor who lost her home in the 2015 Valley Fire, told the Senate committee that federal mitigation grants and BRIC funding are essential to local resilience and that frozen or canceled funds are delaying implementation of projects to harden homes and communities.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":91,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6253879,"Senate hearing: witnesses say U.S. homeowners insurance market is under strain as premiums rise and carriers pull back",0,1134000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3177763-bd3030115c1cba46915b6bd6308c0473&start=1134&end=1134","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3177763-bd3030115c1cba46915b6bd6308c0473/thumbnail_1134000.jpg","/articles/6253879/Senate-hearing-witnesses-say-US-homeowners-insurance-market-is-under-strain-as-premiums-rise-and-carriers-pull-back","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6253879-9c22d0f40b6a30d4d231d10ce86ccde2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771097883&Signature=KKiiwbbIzKBP2IJJDWjFg9Ps73~EJWq1EGNLIbeRe9TWGLjpq9km6ahobJEMgTgK-HDQpay7w1Qdx8Lh-h-ZWlf-dXr22okpL~HiqoU4QSswLls-hZv2V9L-yYpWgSYgujqSHKXfgXbPZkKOpZrcmKLR28uPDp2wkPE5cr77ljaCzSJNQ-vidoWQbhf0t4jos3Ko03nObXBMysFv0GAFFI3SPlKM~9rOpdh6lf3Ps1odp2ZFRSoj55EF-IMzzN7aWyUDuC9MLVcxUDlwVia-heqWZZyKLW-RiH3hUjrXizucV77nB4HmDtBThlukKgW15fi3FgucPAv95Bp0qlFqqA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, witnesses and local officials said the U.S. homeowners insurance market is under sustained stress that is reducing availability of coverage and raising premiums for many families.

The warning came from industry and policy witnesses who cited a mix of factors driving higher costs: record inflation and sharply higher building-material prices, a decade of rising catastrophe losses, litigation and fraud costs, constrained insurer capital, state regulatory limits on pricing and uncertainty from federal trade and program decisions.

Why it matters: Committee members and witnesses said higher premiums and nonrenewals threaten access to mortgages and long-term housing affordability in some regions, and can create localized financial instability for homeowners and local governments.

Industry trade group representative Robert Gordon, senior vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, said insurers are still trying to recover capital lost in recent years. \"Homeowners insurers in 2023 ... paid out a dollar and 11¢ in claims and expenses for every dollar collected,\" Gordon said, explaining that underwriting has been unprofitable overall and that insurers have limited capacity to keep writing high-risk business without adequate rates or capital.

Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren told the committee that rising premiums are already pricing some families out of homeownership: \"For families across the country, insurance markets and insurance is not just a financial product. It's peace of mind,\" she said, adding that many areas are seeing double-digit increases in recent years.

Witnesses and senators described a set of common drivers:

- Inflation and building costs: Speakers repeatedly tied a large share of premium increases to the post-pandemic surge in construction and material prices. Gordon and other witnesses noted a multi-year inflationary effect on replacement costs that feeds higher insurance claims and premiums.

- Natural-catastrophe and exposure changes: Insurers and researchers said catastrophe losses have risen over the past decade, increasing the cost of replacing damaged property in floods, hurricanes, wildfires and severe convective storms.

- Legal and fraud costs: Industry witnesses pointed to litigation and assignment-of-benefits fraud as contributors to higher claims costs and higher premiums in affected states.

- Regulatory constraints and market structure: Witnesses singled out states with prior-approval rate regimes as having larger availability problems; Robert Gordon described California as facing \"the worst property insurance crisis,\" including a slow prior-approval process that he and others said discouraged insurers from sustaining coverage in high-risk areas.

- Trade and federal policy uncertainty: Senators and witnesses said recent tariff announcements and federal policy changes (including proposed cuts to FEMA programs) have added uncertainty that can raise rebuilding costs and affect premium-setting.

Policy responses discussed at the hearing included federal mitigation grants, expanded use of evidence-based building and retrofit standards, state regulatory reforms to allow actuarially based rates, targeted legal reforms to limit certain litigation abuses, and greater investment in verified mitigation programs that insurers recognize when pricing risk.

Michael Newman, general counsel for the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, emphasized mitigation tied to verification: \"Our primary goal should be to make American homes and communities more survivable and insurable,\" he said, describing IBHS programs such as Fortified and Wildfire Prepared as examples insurers can use to differentiate risk.

Not every witness placed equal weight on each driver. Alex Epstein of the Center for Industrial Progress argued that market signals and resilience measures, rather than expanded federal spending, should be the primary policy lever. He urged freer insurance pricing to send signals about risk, saying, \"In a free market, fire insurance premiums would have risen dramatically in response...\" (Epstein testimony).

The committee also discussed legislative and administrative actions. Witnesses and senators urged a long-term reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program and expressed concern about proposed eliminations or cuts to hazard-mitigation grant programs administered by FEMA. Several senators said they and colleagues are preparing or supporting bills to address aspects of the market and mitigation funding.

The hearing reflected broad agreement among witnesses that mitigation and verified resilience actions can reduce losses and improve insurability, while the appropriate mix of regulatory, legal and federal funding responses remained the subject of partisan differences.

Looking ahead, committee members asked witnesses for written follow-up on data and policy prescriptions; the chair set a deadline for questions for the record and for witness responses.","At a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, witnesses and local officials described rising homeowners insurance costs, shrinking industry capital, state regulatory limits and the loss of federal mitigation funding as drivers of declining availability and affordability nationwide.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Industry and senators warn against privatizing National Flood Insurance Program; say NFIP plays unique mapping and risk role

Lake County supervisor: federal mitigation funding freezes and BRIC cuts leave wildfire-hit communities 'dead in the water'

Senate hearing: witnesses say U.S. homeowners insurance market is under strain as premiums rise and carriers pull back