I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4107 

To provide for transparency, accountability, and reform of the National Flood 

Insurance Program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2015 

Mr. DONOVAN (for himself and Miss RICE of New York) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To provide for transparency, accountability, and reform of 

the National Flood Insurance Program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Flood Insurance 

5 Transparency and Accountability Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FLOOD INSURANCE TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNT7 ABILITY, AND REFORM. 

8 (a) REPORTS AND OTHER CLAIM-RELATED DOCU9 MENTS.—Section 1312 of the National Flood Insurance 


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1 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4019) is amended by adding at 

2 the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(d) FINAL ENGINEERING REPORTS.—The Adminis4 trator shall require that, in the case of any on-site inspec5 tion of a property by an engineer for the purpose of assess6 ing any claim for losses covered by a policy for flood insur7 ance coverage provided under this title, the final engineer8 ing report shall be provided to the insured under the pol9 icy, as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) TIMING.—The final engineering report 

11 may not be transmitted to any other person, em12 ployer, agency, or entity, before it is transmitted to 

13 the insured. 

14 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON ALTERATIONS; CERTIFI15 CATION.—The final engineering report may not in16 clude alterations by, or at the request of, anyone 

17 other than the responsible in charge for such report 

18 and shall include a certification, signed by the re19 sponsible in charge for the report, that it does not 

20 contain any such alterations. 

21 ‘‘(3) TRANSMITTAL.—The final engineering re22 port shall be transmitted to the insured in a manner 

23 as the Administrator shall provide that provides rea24 sonable assurance that it was transmitted directly to 

25 the insured by the responsible in charge. 


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1 ‘‘(4) REPORTS COVERED.—For purposes of this 

2 subsection, the term ‘final engineering report’ means 

3 an engineering report, survey, or other document in 

4 connection with such claim that— 

5 ‘‘(A) is based on such on-site inspection; 

6 ‘‘(B) contains final conclusions with re7 spect to an engineering issue or issues involved 

8 in such claim; and 

9 ‘‘(C) is signed by the responsible in charge 

10 or affixed with the seal of such responsible in 

11 charge, or both. 

12 ‘‘(e) CLAIMS ADJUSTMENT REPORTS.—The Adminis13 trator shall require that, in the case of any on-site inspec14 tion of a property by a claims adjustor for the purpose 

15 of assessing any claim for losses covered by a policy for 

16 flood insurance coverage provided under this title, any re17 port shall be provided to the insured under the policy, as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(1) TIMING.—Such report may not be trans20 mitted to any other person, employer, agency, or en21 tity, before it is transmitted to the insured. 

22 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON ALTERATIONS; CERTIFI23 CATION.—The report may not include alterations by, 

24 or at the request of, anyone other than such pre25 parer and shall include a certification, signed by the 


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1 preparer of the report, that it does not contain any 

2 such alterations. 

3 ‘‘(3) TRANSMITTAL.—The report shall be trans4 mitted to the insured in a manner as the Adminis5 trator shall provide that provides reasonable assur6 ance that it was transmitted directly to the insured 

7 by the preparer. 

8 ‘‘(4) REPORTS COVERED.—For purposes of this 

9 subsection, the term ‘report’ means any report or 

10 document in connection with such claim that is 

11 based on such on-site inspection by the claims adjus12 tor, including any adjustment report and field re13 port. Such term also includes any draft, preliminary 

14 version, or copy of any such report and any amend15 ments or additions to any such report. Such term 

16 does not include any engineering report, as such 

17 term is defined for purposes of subsection (d). 

18 ‘‘(f) OTHER CLAIM-RELATED DOCUMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF CLAIM-RELATED DOCU20 MENT.—In this subsection, the term ‘claim-related 

21 document’ means any document, other than a final 

22 engineering report (as defined in subsection (d)) or 

23 a report (as defined in subsection (e)), that was pre24 pared for the purposes of assessing a claim for 


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1 losses covered by flood insurance made available 

2 under this title, including— 

3 ‘‘(A) a repair and replacement estimate or 

4 bid; 

5 ‘‘(B) an appraisal; 

6 ‘‘(C) a scope of loss; 

7 ‘‘(D) a drawing; 

8 ‘‘(E) a plan; 

9 ‘‘(F) a report, including a draft report pre10 pared based on an on-site inspection of a prop11 erty conducted by a claims adjustor or engineer; 

12 ‘‘(G) a third-party finding on the amount 

13 of loss, amount of covered damage, or cost of 

14 repairs; and 

15 ‘‘(H) any other valuation, measurement, or 

16 loss adjustment calculation of the amount of 

17 loss, amount of covered damage, or cost of re18 pairs. 

19 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS.—Any enti20 ty servicing a claim under the national flood insur21 ance program— 

22 ‘‘(A) shall retain each claim-related docu23 ment prepared by or for the entity; 

24 ‘‘(B) upon request by a claimant or an au25 thorized representative of a claimant, shall proVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Nov 25, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4107.IH H4107

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1 vide to the claimant or representative a copy of 

2 any claim-related document described in sub3 paragraph (A) that pertains to the claimant; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(C) not later than 30 days after receiving 

6 notice of a claim, shall notify the claimant that 

7 the claimant or an authorized representative of 

8 the claimant may obtain, upon request, a copy 

9 of any claim-related document described in sub10 paragraph (A) that pertains to the claimant.’’. 

11 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

12 (1) GOVERNMENT PROGRAM WITH INDUSTRY

13 ASSISTANCE.—Section 1341 of the National Flood 

14 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4072) is amended 

15 by striking ‘‘within one year after the date of mail16 ing of notice of disallowance or partial disallowance 

17 by the Administrator’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘not later than the expiration of the 2-year period 

19 beginning upon the date of the occurrence of the 

20 losses involved in such claim or, in the case of a de21 nial of a claim for losses that is appealed to the Ad22 ministrator, not later than (1) the expiration of the 

23 90-day period beginning upon the date of a final de24 termination upon appeal denying such claim in 


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1 whole or in part, or (2) the expiration of such 2-year 

2 period, whichever is later’’. 

3 (2) INDUSTRY PROGRAM WITH FEDERAL FINAN4 CIAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 1333 of the National 

5 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4053) is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘within one year after the date 

7 of mailing of notice of disallowance or partial dis8 allowance of the claim’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘not later than the expiration of the 2-year period 

10 beginning upon the date of the occurrence of the 

11 losses involved in such claim or, in the case of a de12 nial of a claim for losses that is appealed to the Ad13 ministrator, not later than (1) the expiration of the 

14 90-day period beginning upon the date of a final de15 termination upon appeal denying such claim in 

16 whole or in part, or (2) the expiration of such 2-year 

17 period, whichever is later’’. 

18 (c) FLOOD INSURANCE ADVOCATE.—Section 24(b) of 

19 the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 

20 (42 U.S.C. 4033(b)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

22 end; 

23 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

24 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

25 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(6) provide a direct point of contact for policy2 holders under the National Flood Insurance Pro3 gram to discuss the status of their claim appeals 

4 and the basis of the decision to initially deny their 

5 claims.’’. 

6 (d) RECORDS AND REVIEWS.—Section 1348 of the 

7 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4084) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REVIEW.—The Administrator shall 

10 conduct an annual review of each private entity partici11 pating in the national flood insurance program, including 

12 any company that has entered into a contract with a Write 

13 Your Own insurance company to provide any service re14 lated to a policy or claim under the national flood insur15 ance program, including adjusting, engineering, and legal 

16 services, to ensure compliance with this title and with all 

17 policies and procedures established by the Administrator 

18 to prevent fraud and protect policyholders.’’. 

19 (e) PUBLICATION OF CLAIMS DATA.—Section 1312 

20 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

21 4019), as amended by subsection (a) of this section, is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(g) PUBLICATION OF CLAIMS DATA.—Not later 

24 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Flood In25 surance Transparency and Accountability Act of 2015, the 


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1 Administrator shall create and maintain a publically 

2 searchable online database that includes, with respect to 

3 claims filed under the national flood insurance program 

4 after that date of enactment— 

5 ‘‘(1) the number of claims filed each month, 

6 broken down by State; 

7 ‘‘(2) the number of claims paid in part or in 

8 full; 

9 ‘‘(3) the number of claims denied and the rea10 sons cited for each denial; and 

11 ‘‘(4) the number of claim denials appealed, the 

12 number of claim denials upheld on appeal, and the 

13 number of claim denials overturned on appeal.’’. 

14 (f) ENGINEERING AND LITIGATION COSTS.—Section 

15 1311 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

16 U.S.C. 4018) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(c) ENGINEERING AND LITIGATION COSTS.—The 

19 Administrator shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) in order to ensure that taxpayer funds are 

21 being appropriately expended, establish clear guide22 lines and standards to require that any engineering 

23 or litigation cost billed to the national flood insur24 ance program by a Write Your Own insurance com25 pany is justified on a case-by-case basis, both by the 


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1 entity that originally incurs the cost and by the 

2 Write Your Own Company; and 

3 ‘‘(2) enforce compliance with the guidelines and 

4 standards established under paragraph (1).’’. 

5 (g) EARTH MOVEMENT.—Section 1306 of the Na6 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013) is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) EARTH MOVEMENT.—A flood insurance claim 

9 filed under this title for damage to or loss of property shall 

10 not be denied based on the earth movement exclusion in 

11 the Standard Flood Insurance Policy if the claim is filed 

12 as the result of a flood, including a claim for damage to 

13 or loss or property caused by earth movement that was 

14 caused by a flood.’’. 

15 (h) APPEALS PROCESS.—Section 205 of the Bun16 ning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act 

17 of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 4011 note) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘Not later than’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF APPEALS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) CLARITY.—The Director shall ensure that 

23 the appeals process established under subsection (a) 

24 has clear rules, forms, and deadlines. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION UPON INITIAL DENIAL OF

2 CLAIM.—The Director shall ensure that a claimant 

3 is provided with the rules, forms, and deadlines de4 scribed in paragraph (1) at the time a claim is first 

5 denied in full or in part, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) the effective date of the denial; 

7 ‘‘(B) a justification for the denial, includ8 ing supporting documentation; 

9 ‘‘(C) the date on which the period of limi10 tation for instituting an action against the Ad11 ministrator on the claim under section 1341 

12 will end; and 

13 ‘‘(D) a point of contact through which the 

14 claimant can directly discuss an appeal with a 

15 representative of the Federal Emergency Man16 agement Agency. 

17 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION UPON DENIAL OF AP18 PEAL.—If the Administrator denies an appeal filed 

19 by a policyholder, the Administrator shall include 

20 with the notice of denial an explanation of the pol21 icyholder’s legal options for further challenging the 

22 denial.’’. 

23 (i) DEFINITION OF WRITE YOUR OWN.—Section 

24 1370(a) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

25 U.S.C. 4121(a)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (15), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(16) the term ‘Write Your Own’ means the co7 operative undertaking between the insurance indus8 try and the Federal Insurance Administration which 

9 allows participating property and casualty insurance 

10 companies to write and service standard flood insur11 ance policies.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

14 (1) the term ‘‘National Flood Insurance Pro15 gram’’ means the program established under the Na16 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 

17 et seq.); 

18 (2) the term ‘‘Task Force’’ means the National 

19 Flood Insurance Program Transformation Task 

20 Force established by the Federal Emergency Man21 agement Agency; and 

22 (3) the term ‘‘Write Your Own’’ has the mean23 ing given the term in section 1370(a) of the Na24 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

25 4121(a)), as amended by section 2(i) of this Act. 


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1 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON ACCOUNTABILITY FOR

2 DEFRAUDING POLICYHOLDERS.—Not later than 90 days 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security shall submit to Congress a report on 

5 specific actions the Department of Homeland Security will 

6 take to identify individuals and private entities that have 

7 engaged in activities to defraud policyholders under the 

8 National Flood Insurance Program following Superstorm 

9 Sandy and prevent those individuals and private entities 

10 from continuing to receive Federal funding through— 

11 (1) contracts with, or employment by, a Write 

12 Your Own insurance company; or 

13 (2) employment by the Federal Emergency 

14 Management Agency. 

15 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON RECOMMENDATIONS

16 OF THE NFIP TRANSFORMATION TASK FORCE.—Not 

17 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

18 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

19 Agency shall submit to Congress a report that describes— 

20 (1) the recommendations of the Task Force for 

21 reforming the National Flood Insurance Program; 

22 (2) a timeline for implementing the rec23 ommendations of the Task Force; and 


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1 (3) any recommendations of the Task Force 

2 that require additional legislation. 

Æ 


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