Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on June 25, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 to make technical amendments without substantive change to requirements for flood insurance under either the federal program or private flood insurance.

(Under current law, any building, mobile home or personal property that would be financed by a federally-backed mortgage must have flood insurance if the property is located in an area designated as a special flood hazard.)

As under current law, the amount of mandatory flood insurance shall be, for either federal or private flood insurance, equal to the development or project cost of the building, mobile home, or personal property (less estimated land cost), the outstanding principal balance of the loan, or the maximum limit of federal flood insurance coverage available for the particular type of property, whichever is less.

The bill revises without substantive change the flood insurance requirements that apply to home loans or loan guarantees by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). This revision does specify, however, that any requirements established by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac relating to the financial strength of private insurance companies from which they will accept private flood insurance must not affect or conflict with any state law, regulation, or procedure concerning the regulation of the business of insurance.

Private flood insurance shall include, in addition to a policy issued by a company licensed, admitted, or otherwise approved by the state (as in current law), any policy issued by an insurance company eligible as a nonadmitted insurer to provide flood insurance in the state or jurisdiction where the property to be insured is located.

The bill specifies that the federal flood insurance program, with respect to both private and federal flood insurance, extends to Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

FEMA must consider any period during which a property was continuously covered by private flood insurance to be a period of continuous insurance coverage.