The bill expands private flood insurance choice and incentivizes insurer participation while preserving NFIP operations, but it raises risks of consumer confusion, weaker protections, and potential increased costs to taxpayers from adverse selection.
Private insurers: gain clearer ability to sell private flood insurance alongside the NFIP, encouraging more insurer participation and increased market competition.
Homeowners: can purchase private flood insurance in addition to NFIP policies, increasing choice and creating the potential for lower premiums or more coverage options for some households.
Homeowners and insurers: preserves Write Your Own (WYO) continuity for claims adjustment and payment while allowing private-market offerings, maintaining program operations and a clear claims pathway during the transition.
Taxpayers: could face higher costs if private migration causes adverse selection that increases NFIP liabilities or subsidy needs.
Homeowners: may receive weaker consumer protections because reduced FEMA leverage over private insurers could lead to less stringent underwriting, coverage clarity, or enforcement of consumer safeguards.
Homeowners: may face confusion and difficulty coordinating overlapping coverage and claims between NFIP and private policies, complicating recovery after floods.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bars FEMA from requiring WYO participants or related service providers to refrain from offering private flood insurance and forbids new non‑compete clauses in WYO agreements.
Introduced September 26, 2025 by W. Greg Steube · Last progress September 26, 2025
Prohibits the FEMA Administrator from requiring insurers, agents, brokers, or adjusters who participate in the National Flood Insurance Program’s Write Your Own (WYO) program to refrain from offering or selling private flood insurance. It also bans FEMA from adding any new non‑compete clause to WYO participation agreements after enactment. The change lets insurance companies and their representatives sell private flood policies while remaining in the NFIP WYO program, with no new FEMA-imposed restriction that would prevent those private sales.