Private Flood Insurance Market Development Act of 2017

To amend the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 to require that certain buildings and personal property be covered by flood insurance, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Private Flood Insurance Market Development Act of 2017 2. Private flood insurance (a) Mandatory purchase requirement (1) Amount and term of coverage Section 102 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 ( 42 U.S.C. 4012a Sec. 102. (a) 102. (a) Amount and term of coverage After the expiration of sixty days following the date of the enactment of this Act, no Federal officer or agency shall approve any financial assistance for acquisition or construction purposes for use in any area that has been identified by the Administrator as an area having special flood hazards and in which the sale of flood insurance has been made available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, unless the building or mobile home and any personal property to which such financial assistance relates is covered by flood insurance: Provided, Provided further, . (2) Requirement for mortgage loans Subsection (b) of section 102 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 ( 42 U.S.C. 4012a(b) (A) by striking paragraph (7); (B) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); (C) by striking the subsection designation and all that follows through the end of paragraph (5) and inserting the following: (b) Requirement for mortgage loans (1) Regulated lending institutions Each Federal entity for lending regulation (after consultation and coordination with the Financial Institutions Examination Council established under the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1974) shall by regulation direct regulated lending institutions not to make, increase, extend, or renew any loan secured by improved real estate or a mobile home located or to be located in an area that has been identified by the Administrator as an area having special flood hazards and in which flood insurance has been made available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, unless the building or mobile home and any personal property securing such loan is covered for the term of the loan by flood insurance: Provided, (2) Federal agency lenders and mortgage insurance and guarantee agencies (A) Federal agency lenders A Federal agency lender may not make, increase, extend, or renew any loan secured by improved real estate or a mobile home located or to be located in an area that has been identified by the Administrator as an area having special flood hazards and in which flood insurance has been made available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, unless the building or mobile home and any personal property securing such loan is covered for the term of the loan by flood insurance in accordance with paragraph (1). Each Federal agency lender may issue any regulations necessary to carry out this paragraph. Such regulations shall be consistent with and substantially identical to the regulations issued under paragraph (1). (B) Other Federal mortgage entities (i) Coverage requirements Each covered Federal mortgage entity shall implement procedures reasonably designed to ensure that, for any loan that— (I) is secured by improved real estate or a mobile home located in an area that has been identified, at the time of the origination of the loan or at any time during the term of the loan, by the Administrator as an area having special flood hazards and in which flood insurance is available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, and (II) is made, insured, held, or guaranteed by such entity, or backs or on which is based any trust certificate or other security for which such entity guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest, the building or mobile home and any personal property securing the loan is covered for the term of the loan by flood insurance in the amount provided in paragraph (1). (ii) Definition For purposes of this subparagraph, the term covered Federal mortgage entity (I) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, with respect to mortgages insured under the National Housing Act; (II) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to loans made, insured, or guaranteed under title V of the Housing Act of 1949; and (III) the Government National Mortgage Association. (C) Requirement to accept flood insurance Each Federal agency lender and each covered Federal mortgage entity shall accept flood insurance as satisfaction of the flood insurance coverage requirement under subparagraph (A) or (B), respectively, if the flood insurance coverage meets the requirements for coverage under such subparagraph and the requirements relating to financial strength issued pursuant to paragraph (4). (3) Government-sponsored enterprises for housing The Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation shall implement procedures reasonably designed to ensure that, for any loan that is— (A) secured by improved real estate or a mobile home located in an area that has been identified, at the time of the origination of the loan or at any time during the term of the loan, by the Administrator as an area having special flood hazards and in which flood insurance is available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, and (B) purchased or guaranteed by such entity, the building or mobile home and any personal property securing the loan is covered for the term of the loan by flood insurance in the amount provided in paragraph (1). The Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation shall accept flood insurance as satisfaction of the flood insurance coverage requirement under paragraph (1) if the flood insurance coverage provided meets the requirements for coverage under that paragraph and the requirements relating to financial strength issued pursuant to paragraph (4). (4) Requirements regarding financial strength The Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, in consultation with the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Government National Mortgage Association, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall develop and implement requirements relating to the financial strength of private insurance companies from which such entities and agencies will accept private flood insurance, provided that such requirements shall not affect or conflict with any State law, regulation, or procedure concerning the regulation of the business of insurance. (5) Applicability (A) Existing coverage Except as provided in subparagraph (B), paragraph (1) shall apply on the date of enactment of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994. (B) New coverage Paragraphs (2) and (3) shall apply only with respect to any loan made, increased, extended, or renewed after the expiration of the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994. Paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to any loan made, increased, extended, or renewed by any lender supervised by the Farm Credit Administration only after the expiration of the period under this subparagraph. (C) Continued effect of regulations Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, the regulations to carry out paragraph (1), as in effect immediately before the date of enactment of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994, shall continue to apply until the regulations issued to carry out paragraph (1) as amended by section 522(a) of such Act take effect. (6) Rule of construction Except as otherwise specified, any reference to flood insurance in this section shall be considered to include Federal flood insurance and private flood insurance. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to supersede or limit the authority of a Federal entity for lending regulation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, a Federal agency lender, a covered Federal mortgage entity (as such term is defined in paragraph (2)(B)(ii)), the Federal National Mortgage Association, or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation to establish requirements relating to the financial strength of private insurance companies from which the entity or agency will accept private flood insurance, provided that such requirements shall not affect or conflict with any State law, regulation, or procedure concerning the regulation of the business of insurance. ; and (D) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: (8) Definitions In this section: (A) Flood insurance The term flood insurance (i) Federal flood insurance; and (ii) private flood insurance. (B) Federal flood insurance The term Federal flood insurance 42 U.S.C. 4001 (C) Private flood insurance The term private flood insurance (i) is issued by an insurance company that is— (I) licensed, admitted, or otherwise approved to engage in the business of insurance in the State in which the insured building is located, by the insurance regulator of that State; or (II) eligible as a nonadmitted insurer to provide insurance in the home State of the insured, in accordance with sections 521 through 527 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ( 15 U.S.C. 8201 (ii) is issued by an insurance company that is not otherwise disapproved as a surplus lines insurer by the insurance regulator of the State in which the property to be insured is located; and (iii) provides flood insurance coverage that complies with the laws and regulations of that State. (D) State The term State . (b) Effect of private flood insurance coverage on continuous coverage requirements Section 1308 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 ( 42 U.S.C. 4015 (n) Effect of private flood insurance coverage on continuous coverage requirements For purposes of applying any statutory, regulatory, or administrative continuous coverage requirement, including under section 1307(g)(1), the Administrator shall consider any period during which a property was continuously covered by private flood insurance (as defined in section 102(b)(8) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 ( 42 U.S.C. 4012a(b)(8) . July 14, 2017 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Private Flood Insurance Market Development Act of 2017 This bill amends the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 to revise requirements for federal and private flood insurance. The bill revises the financial requirements that apply to flood insurance for home loans or loan guarantees by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and other federal mortgage entities. Private flood insurance must meet any financial strength requirements set forth by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Private flood insurance may include nonadmitted insurers (including surplus lines insurance) as long as the insurer is eligible to provide insurance in the home state of the insured and complies with the laws and regulations of that state. The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is amended to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to consider any period during which a property was continuously covered by private flood insurance to be a period of continuous insurance coverage, including for the purposes of National Flood Insurance Program subsidies.