Sponsors (3)
The bill expands private flood insurance options and preserves insurer participation in the NFIP WYO program—likely increasing choice and market competition—but risks adverse selection, fragmented claims handling, and reduced contractual leverage to enforce uniform consumer protections, potentially shifting costs and risks onto taxpayers and some policyholders.
Homeowners and small-business owners gain increased access to private flood insurance options and potential benefits from greater insurer competition (more choices, potentially better prices and products) because insurers participating in the NFIP Write‑Your‑Own (WYO) program are not barred from selling private flood coverage.
Homeowners benefit from preserved insurer participation in the NFIP WYO program, which supports continuity in claims handling and NFIP operations by keeping experienced private carriers involved.
Consumers may see improved market responsiveness and product variety as carriers are free to offer private policies alongside NFIP business, encouraging innovation in private flood insurance offerings.
Taxpayers and remaining NFIP policyholders face higher costs if private insurers cherry‑pick lower‑risk customers while still servicing NFIP claims, concentrating higher‑risk policies in the NFIP and raising premiums or taxpayer exposure.
Homeowners could experience coordination problems or inconsistent claims handling if insurers prioritize their private flood policies over NFIP policies, leading to confusion or slower resolutions for some claimants.
Homeowners may face weaker standardized consumer protections because removing non‑compete restrictions could reduce FEMA's contractual leverage to impose uniform oversight and consumer safeguards across participating insurers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits FEMA from requiring WYO insurers or their agents/adjusters to stop selling private flood insurance and bars such non-compete clauses in future WYO agreements.
Official title: To ensure that Write Your Own companies can sell private flood insurance products that compete with National Flood Insurance Program products.
Introduced September 26, 2025 by W. Greg Steube · Last progress September 26, 2025
Prohibits FEMA from requiring insurers, agents, brokers, or adjustment organizations participating in the National Flood Insurance Program's "Write Your Own" (WYO) program to stop offering or selling private flood insurance. It also bars FEMA from adding any such non-compete condition to future WYO agreements executed after the law takes effect.