SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Homeowners Insurance Protection Act of 2009’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Congressional findings. 
Sec. 3. National Commission on Catastrophe Preparation and Protection. 
Sec. 4. Program authority. 
Sec. 5. Qualified lines of coverage. 
Sec. 6. Covered perils. 
Sec. 7. Contracts for reinsurance coverage for eligible State programs. 
Sec. 8. Treatment of insured losses and maximum Federal liability. 
Sec. 9. Catastrophe capital reserve funds. 
Sec. 10. Consumer Hurricane, Earthquake, Loss Protection (HELP) Fund. 
Sec. 11. Annual study concerning benefits of reinsurance program. 
Sec. 12. Definitions. 
Sec. 13. Regulations. 
Sec. 14. Termination. 
Sec. 15. GAO study of the National Flood Insurance Program and hurricane- 
related flooding. 
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that— 
(1) the United States needs to take actions to 
be better prepared for and better protected from ca-
tastrophes; 
(2) the hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 are 
startling reminders of both the human and economic 
devastation that hurricanes, flooding, and other nat-
ural disasters can cause; 
(3) if a hurricane similar to the deadly 1900 
Galveston hurricane occurred again it could cause 
over $36,000,000,000 in loss; 
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(4) if the 1904 San Francisco earthquake oc-
curred again it could cause over $400,000,000,000 
in loss; 
(5) if a Category 5 hurricane were to hit Miami 
it could cause over $50,000,000,000 in loss and dev-
astate the insurance industry in the United States; 
(6) if the 1938 ‘‘Long Island Express’’ were to 
occur again it could cause over $30,000,000,000 in 
damage and if a hurricane that strong were to di-
rectly 
hit 
Manhattan 
it 
could 
cause 
over 
$150,000,000,000 in damage and cause irreparable 
harm to our Nation’s economy; 
(7) a more comprehensive and integrated ap-
proach to dealing with catastrophes is needed; 
(8) using history as a guide, natural catas-
trophes will inevitably place a tremendous strain on 
homeowners’ insurance markets in many areas, will 
raise costs for consumers, and will jeopardize the 
ability of many consumers to adequately insure their 
homes and possessions; 
(9) the lack of sufficient insurance capacity and 
the inability of private insurers to build enough cap-
ital, in a short amount of time, threatens to increase 
the number of uninsured homeowners, which, in 
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turn, increases the risk of mortgage defaults and the 
strain on the Nation’s banking system; 
(10) some States have intervened to ensure the 
continued availability and affordability of home-
owners’ insurance for all residents; 
(11) it is appropriate that efforts to improve in-
surance availability be designed and implemented at 
the State level; 
(12) while State insurance programs may be 
adequate to cover losses from most natural disasters, 
a small percentage of events are likely to exceed the 
financial capacity of these programs and the local 
insurance markets; 
(13) making available limited Federal reinsur-
ance would improve the effectiveness of State insur-
ance programs and private insurance markets and 
would increase the likelihood that homeowners’ in-
surance claims will be fully paid in the event of a 
large natural catastrophe and that routine claims 
that occur after a mega-catastrophe will also con-
tinue to be paid; 
(14) it is necessary to provide a Federal rein-
surance program on a temporary basis that will pro-
vide more protection at an overall lower cost and 
that will promote stability in the homeowners’ insur-
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ance market in the short term and encourage growth 
of reinsurance capacity by the private and capital 
markets as soon as practical; 
(15) it is the proper role of the Federal Govern-
ment to prepare for and protect its citizens from ca-
tastrophes and to facilitate consumer protection, vic-
tim assistance, and recovery, including financial re-
covery; 
(16) any Federal reinsurance program must be 
founded upon sound actuarial principles and priced 
in a manner that minimizes the potential impact on 
the Treasury of the United States, encourages the 
creation of State funds and maximizes the buying 
potential of these State funds, encourages and pro-
motes prevention and mitigation, recovery and re-
building, and consumer education, and emphasizes 
continuous analysis and improvement; and 
(17) such a Federal reinsurance program 
should not remain in existence longer than necessary 
for the private entities or the capital markets, or 
both, to provide adequate reinsurance capacity to 
address the homeowners’ insurance market. 
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SEC. 3. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CATASTROPHE PREPA-
RATION AND PROTECTION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury shall establish a commission to be known as the Na-
tional Commission on Catastrophe Preparation and Pro-
tection. 
(b) DUTIES.—The Commission shall meet for the 
purpose of advising the Secretary regarding the estimated 
loss costs associated with the contracts for reinsurance 
coverage available under this Act and carrying out the 
functions specified in this Act, including— 
(1) the development and implementation of 
public education concerning the risks posed by nat-
ural catastrophes; 
(2) the development and implementation of pre-
vention, mitigation, recovery, and rebuilding stand-
ards that better prepare and protect the United 
States from catastrophes; 
(3) the establishment of requirements under 
section 7(e) to ensure that cost savings resulting 
from this Act inure to the benefit of consumers; and 
(4) conducting continuous analysis of the effec-
tiveness of this Act and recommending improve-
ments to the Congress so that the costs of providing 
catastrophe protection are decreased and so that the 
United States is better prepared. 
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