Effective December 21, 2022, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) amended its regulation at 24 C.F.R. § 203.16a to allow FHA borrowers to purchase private flood insurance for properties located in Special Flood Hazard Areas. Previously, the FHA rule only permitted borrowers to purchase flood insurance policies issued through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The
For the first time in more than 20 years, FEMA has announced plans to make changes to its Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP). Under the proposal, FEMA would introduce a new Homeowner Flood Form, to be published at 44 C.F.R. 61 appendix A(4), that would provide flood coverage for one-to-four residential properties. FEMA has
Congress has reauthorized the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through February 18, 2022. Prior to this most recent temporary reauthorization, the NFIP had been set to expire on December 3, 2021. Since 2017, there have been 18 temporary reauthorizations as more comprehensive and permanent legislative solutions to the program have failed to gain traction in
As homeowners file insurance claims for property damage following Hurricane Ida and with Hurricane Larry threatening the northeast coast, mortgage servicers are facing an influx of insurance proceeds or loss draft funds. To avoid borrower litigation and to protect against potential liability to borrowers and investors, mortgage servicers must ensure that all loss draft activities
On April 1, 2021, FEMA released its highly anticipated flood insurance rating methodology, Risk Rating 2.0-Equity in Action.
FEMA first announced “Risk Rating 2.0-Equity in Action” in March 2019 as an effort to improve flood maps and offer rates that are fair, easy to understand, and more aligned with a property’s unique flood risks. The
The cyber insurance market size is currently valued in the billions, and this does not include insurance policies that do not explicitly mention cyber incidents but may nevertheless cover them. With this in mind, policyholders and insurance carriers should be aware of the recently released Cyber Insurance Framework (the “Framework”) issued by the New York
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has issued a bulletin on climate change and financial risks to the financial institutions and insurance companies it supervises regarding the impact of climate change on those institutions. DFS asserts that “[f]inancial risks from climate change are unprecedented” and notes a warning from the Bank for International
As everyone steps away from their (home) office to celebrate Thanksgiving, we wanted to count our blessings as we review this truly remarkable and unusual year. In addition to frontline healthcare workers, good WI-FI, food delivery services, and finally finding a mask that is comfortable, we are also thankful for the following:
On November 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a proposed amendment to Federal Housing Administration (FHA) regulations that would allow lenders to accept private flood insurance policies on FHA-insured properties located in Special Flood Hazard Areas. HUD will accept comments for 60 days following the date the proposed rule,
It has been nine years since the Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Flood Insurance (Flood Insurance Q&As) have seen any revisions. But that’s all about to change. Under the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (Reform Act), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,