Congress Extends National Flood Insurance Plan Until Next March

In addition to working overtime on the Wall Street bailout over the weekend, the Senate also approved legislation to extend the National Flood Insurance Program until March 6, 2009.

The measure was passed earlier last week by the House of Representatives and must still be signed by President George W. Bush.

The bill was passed just in time — the current program expires on Sept. 30.

The House and Senate had failed to come to terms on the details of a longer term extension earlier in the session. Among the dividing issues are whether to add wind coverage to the flood program and whether to forgive NFIP’s debt. This 6-month measure buys lawmakers time until next March to iron out those differences.

“While we would have preferred that Congress pass a long-term extension with much-needed reforms, it was vital to ensure that the NFIP would not lapse on September 30,” said David Sampson, president of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, an industry group.