HR 5500
National Flood Insurance Program Administrative Reform Act of 2025
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Bill overview
This bill, the National Flood Insurance Program Administrative Reform Act of 2025, aims to improve the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) by increasing fairness, accuracy, and taxpayer protection. It proposes several changes, including pilot programs for assessing property conditions, stricter penalties for fraud, enhanced appeal processes for policyholders, and deadlines for claim approvals. The bill also seeks to improve transparency, oversight, and technical assistance within the program, and addresses issues related to litigation and staffing.
Key provisions
- Establishes a pilot program for investigating preexisting structural conditions of insured properties.
- Increases penalties for fraud and false statements in flood insurance claims.
- Expands policyholder appeal rights and establishes a 120-day deadline for appeal decisions.
- Sets deadlines for initial claim approval and payment.
- Implements oversight of litigation conducted by Write Your Own companies.
- Prohibits the hiring of disbarred attorneys by the NFIP.
- Requires improved disclosure requirements for standard flood insurance policies.
- Addresses reserve fund amounts and staffing levels for the Office of Flood Insurance Advocate.
Who is affected
- Flood insurance policyholders
- Write Your Own insurance companies
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- The insurance industry
- Taxpayers
Notable changes
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Primary sponsor
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 5500
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To make administrative reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program to increase fairness and accuracy and protect the taxpayer from program fraud and abuse, and for other purposes.
.National Flood Insurance Program Administrative Reform Act of 2025
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Section 1311 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4018) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
Under the pilot program under this subsection, a Write Your Own company participating in the program shall—
an investigation of the property covered by such policy, using common methods, to determine whether preexisting structural conditions are present that could result in the denial of a claim under such policy for flood losses; and
if such investigation is not determinative, an on-site inspection of the property to determine whether such preexisting structural conditions are present;
impose a surcharge on each policy described in subparagraph (A) in such amount that the Administrator determines is appropriate to cover the costs of investigations and inspections performed pursuant to such policies and reimburse Write Your Own companies participating in the program under this subsection for such costs.
The Administrator may not provide any policy for flood insurance described in paragraph (2)(A) after December 31, 2028.
Part C of chapter II of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
knowingly forging an engineering report, claims adjustment report or technical assistance report used to support a claim determination;
knowingly making any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation in an engineering report, claims adjustment report, or technical assistance report to support a claim determination that results in a wrongful denial or substantial payment error of flood insurance coverage; and
knowinglymeans having actual awareness of the prohibitions under this part and acting deliberately in violation of such prohibitions.
Prior to any legal action being taken related to this section, all administrative remedies shall be exhausted.
This section shall not be construed—
to prevent the Federal Government from bringing action against a company or individual under applicable statutes, including the False Claims Act; and
as creating any action, private right of action, or remedy not otherwise provided by this title or under Federal law.
Any person found to have violated subsection (a) shall be referred to the appropriate and relevant State licensing agency by the Attorney General.
The Administrator shall issue an appeals decision pursuant to subsection (b) not later than the expiration of the 120-day period beginning upon the day on which the Administrator acknowledges receipt of a request by the policyholder to pursue an appeal of the initial determination regarding approval, disapproval, or amount of payment by the Administrator. In cases where extraordinary circumstances, as established by regulation, are demonstrated, the 120-day period may be extended by additional successive periods of 30 days.
A policyholder shall exhaust all administrative remedies, including submission of disputed claims to appeal under subsection (a), prior to commencing legal action on a disputed claim.
This section shall not be construed as—
making the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Administrator a party to the flood insurance contract; or
creating any action or remedy not otherwise provided by this title.
This section shall not be construed to prevent a policyholder from bringing legal action against the Federal Emergency Management Agency or a Write Your Own company following the exhaustion of all administrative remedies and pursuant to applicable statute.
For purposes of this section, the time from which the Administrator has acknowledged receipt of a request by the policyholder to pursue an appeal of the initial determination regarding approval, disapproval, or amount of payment by the Administrator until the Administrator mails a final determination of such appeal shall not be considered towards the one year statute of limitation under this Act. However, this section shall not be construed as creating any action or remedy not otherwise provided by this title..
in subsection (a), by striking The Administrator
and inserting Subject to other provisions of this section, the Administrator
; and
establish, by regulation, criteria for demonstrating such extraordinary circumstances.
litigation expenses are reasonable, appropriate, and cost-effective; and
Write Your Own companies comply with guidance and procedures established by the Administrator regarding the conduct of litigation.
Under such joint defense agreement, there may be the free flow of information between the Write Your Own companies, the Administrator, the United States Department of Justice, and legal counsel for the Write Your Own companies for the purpose of litigation coordination and to allow the Administrator to perform oversight responsibility of such litigation.
Such joint defense agreement may be included in the Arrangement between the Administrator and the Write Your Own companies.
The Administrator may issue rules or regulations or provide such formal guidance as the Administrator considers necessary and appropriate in order to further such joint defense agreement with the Write Your Own companies.
Part C of chapter II of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.), as amended by the preceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:
The Administrator may not at any time newly employ in connection with the flood insurance program under this title any attorney who has been suspended or disbarred by any court, bar, or Federal or State agency to which the individual was previously admitted to practice.
The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is amended by inserting after section 1312 (42 U.S.C. 4019) the following new section:
A Write Your Own company or direct servicing agent in possession of a technical assistance report subject to disclosure under subsection (a) may disclose such technical assistance report without further review or approval by the Administrator.
For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
The term policyholder
means a person or persons shown as an insured on the declarations page of a policy for flood insurance coverage sold pursuant to this title.
technical assistance reportmeans a report created for the purpose of furnishing technical assistance to an insurance claims adjuster assigned by the National Flood Insurance Program, including by engineers, surveyors, salvors, architects, and certified public accounts.
floodfor purposes of coverage under the policy;
a statement acknowledging that a standard flood insurance policy does not cover basement improvements, such as finished walls, floors, and ceilings, or personal property kept in a basement;
a statement acknowledging a standard flood insurance policy does not include coverage for personal property, but such coverage may be purchased, for some personal property contained in a basement, as well as personal belongings contained elsewhere in the dwelling;
a statement of the other types and characteristics of losses that are not covered under the policy;
a statement that the disclosure sheet provides general information about the policyholder’s standard flood insurance policy;
a statement that the standard flood insurance policy, together with the endorsements and declarations page, make up the official contract and are controlling in the event that there is any difference between the information on the disclosure sheet and the information in the policy;
a statement that, if the policyholder has any questions regarding information in the disclosure sheet or policy, the policyholder should contact the entity selling the policy on behalf of the Program, together with contact information sufficient to allow the policyholder to contact such entity; and
any other information that the Administrator determines will be helpful to policyholder in understanding flood insurance coverage.
accept or decline coverage for personal property;
accept or decline other optional coverage that may be available;
acknowledge the policyholder’s understanding that the standard flood insurance policy, together with the endorsements and declarations page, make up the official contract and are controlling in the event that there is any difference between the information on the acknowledgment sheet and the information in the policy; and
acknowledge that the policyholder has been provided and has reviewed a summary, which may be the policy declarations page, of the total cost, amount and extent of insurance coverage provided under the policy.
Sections 202 and 203 of the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 4011 note) are hereby repealed.
Section 1310 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4017) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
Section 1318 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4025) is amended to read as follows:
Committee).
the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (in this section referred to as the Administrator
), or the designee thereof; and
additional members appointed by the Administrator or the designee of the Administrator, who shall include—
one insurance claims specialist;
one representative of a recognized consumer advocacy organization; and
one representative from an academic institution who has demonstrated expertise in insurance.
The members of the Committee shall elect one member to serve as the chairperson of the Committee (in this section referred to as the Chairperson
).
The Administrator, or a person designated by the Administrator, shall request and coordinate the initial meeting of the Committee.
reimbursable basis, personnel of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to assist the Committee in carrying out its duties.
the recommendations made by the Committee;
actions taken by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to address such recommendations to improve the insurance aspects of the national flood insurance program; and
any recommendations made by the Committee that have been deferred or not acted upon, together with an explanatory statement.
The Federal entities for lending regulation (as such term is defined in section 3(a) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4003(a))), in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall update and reissue the document entitled Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Flood Insurance
not later than the expiration of the 12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and not less frequently than biennially thereafter.
The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study of the policies and practices for adjustment of claims for losses under flood insurance coverage made available under the National Flood Insurance Act, which shall include—
a comparison of such policies and practices with the policies and practices for adjustment of claims for losses under other insurance coverage;
an assessment of the quality of the adjustments conducted and the effects of such policies and practices on such quality;
identification of any incentives under such policies and practices that affect the speed with which such adjustments are conducted; and
identification of the affects of such policies and practices on insureds submitting such claims for losses.
Not later than the expiration of the 18-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate regarding the findings and conclusions of the study conducted pursuant to this section.
The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study of the treatment, under flood insurance coverage made available under the National Flood Insurance Act, of earth movement and subsidence, including earth movement and subsidence caused by flooding, which shall include—
identification and analysis of the effects of such treatment on the National Flood Insurance Program and insureds under the program;
Not later than the expiration of the 18-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate regarding the findings and conclusions of the study conducted pursuant to this section.
in paragraph (14), by striking and
at the end;
in paragraph (15), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
Write Your Own Programmeans the program under which the Federal Emergency Management Agency enters into a standard arrangement with private property insurance companies to sell contracts for flood insurance coverage under this title under their own business lines of insurance, and to adjust and pay claims arising under such contracts; and
the term Write Your Own company
means a private property insurance company that participates in the Write Your Own Program.
Write Your Own Programand
Write Your Own companyhave the meanings given such terms in section 1370(a) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4121(a)).