The U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Housing and Insurance Subcommittee held a hearing on ways to lower the costs and damage of flooding, with Subcommittee Chair Mike Flood framing the discussion around the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the roles of mitigation and multiple loss properties. Flood highlighted that the FEMA-managed NFIP is primarily funded by policyholder premiums that often do not fully reflect flood risk, with the program able to borrow from the U.S. Treasury when premiums are insufficient to pay claims. He noted that the NFIP’s borrowing limit was raised to roughly USD 20 billion after the 2005 hurricane season and to USD 30.425 billion after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and that the program borrowed an additional USD 2 billion in February 2025, bringing total debt to USD 22.525 billion and leaving USD 7.9 billion of remaining borrowing authority. Citing the Government Accountability Office, he said unmitigated multiple loss properties represented about 2.5% of NFIP policies as of 2021 but 48% of NFIP claims, and outlined mitigation approaches including acquisition, elevation, relocation and floodproofing.
U.S. Financial Services Committee 2026-03-26
U.S. House Financial Services Committee probes NFIP repetitive loss properties and mitigation as drivers of rising flood insurance costs and debt
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Housing and Insurance Subcommittee held a hearing on reducing flood costs and damage, focusing on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Subcommittee Chair Mike Flood noted the NFIP's reliance on policyholder premiums and borrowing from the U.S. Treasury, with current debt at USD 22.525 billion. He highlighted that unmitigated multiple loss properties, only 2.5% of policies, accounted for 48% of claims, emphasizing mitigation strategies like acquisition and floodproofing.