139 
edies, may institute an action on the claim 
against the company or other insurer’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) 
EXHAUSTION
OF
ADMINISTRATIVE
REM-
EDIES.—For the purposes of subsection (a), a claimant 
exhausts available administrative remedies if— 
‘‘(1) the claimant submits an appeal and com-
plies with all requirements of the appeal process es-
tablished under section 1349 and other applicable 
requirements; and 
‘‘(2) the Administrator— 
‘‘(A) issues a final decision on the appeal 
that partially or fully concurs with the insurer’s 
disallowance or partial disallowance of the 
claim; or 
‘‘(B) makes no finding regarding the ap-
peal by the date that is 90 days after the date 
on which the Administrator acknowledges re-
ceipt and acceptance of the appeal. 
‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) ISSUES RAISED ON APPEAL.—An action 
may not be instituted under this section for any 
issue of a claim that was not presented to the Ad-
ministrator on appeal. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:21 Sep 29, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00139
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5484.IH
H5484
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
140 
‘‘(2) WEIGHT
OF
ADMINISTRATOR’S
DISPOSI-
TION.—For purposes of this section, disposition of 
an appeal by the Administrator shall not be com-
petent evidence of liability or the amount of dam-
ages.’’. 
SEC. 405. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR UNDERPAYMENTS AND 
OVERPAYMENTS BY WRITE YOUR OWN COM-
PANIES. 
Section 1348 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 
1968 (42 U.S.C. 4084) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(c) UNDERPAYMENTS AND OVERPAYMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) 
ACCOUNTABILITY
FOR
UNDERPAY-
MENTS.—If the Administrator determines through 
any audit that the pool or an insurance company or 
other private organization described in subsection 
(a) has not adjusted a claim in accordance with ad-
justing standards that are in effect as of the date 
on which the adjustment is performed and, as a re-
sult of that failure, has underpaid or overpaid a 
claim of a policyholder, the penalty imposed by the 
Administrator with respect to such a failure may not 
be less for an overpayment of a claim than for an 
underpayment of a claim. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:21 Sep 29, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00140
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5484.IH
H5484
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
141 
‘‘(2) SAFE
HARBOR
FOR
CERTAIN
OVERPAY-
MENTS.—The Administrator may not impose a pen-
alty on the pool or an insurance company or other 
private organization described in subsection (a) for 
overpayment of a claim of a policyholder for reasons 
described in paragraph (1) of this subsection if— 
‘‘(A) the overpayment was not in bad faith; 
and 
‘‘(B) the amount of the overpayment was 
not more than 4 percent of the coverage limit 
of the policy. 
‘‘(d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this subsection, and triennially there-
after, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Finan-
cial Services of the House of Representatives a report re-
garding any penalties imposed by the Administrator under 
subsection (c)(1).’’. 
SEC. 406. POLICYHOLDERS’ RIGHT TO KNOW. 
(a) USE.—Section 1312 of the National Flood Insur-
ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4019), as amended by section 
403(c), is amended by inserting after subsection (f) the 
following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:21 Sep 29, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00141
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5484.IH
H5484
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
142 
‘‘(g) USE OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REPORTS.— 
When adjusting claims for any damage to or loss of prop-
erty that is covered by flood insurance made available 
under this title, the Administrator may rely upon technical 
assistance reports, as defined in section 1312A(a), only 
if the reports are final and are prepared in compliance 
with applicable State and Federal laws regarding profes-
sional licensure and conduct.’’. 
(b) DISCLOSURE.—Chapter I of the National Flood 
Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.) is amend-
ed by inserting after section 1312 (42 U.S.C. 4019) the 
following: 
‘‘SEC. 1312A. DISCLOSURE OF CLAIMS DOCUMENTS AND 
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REPORTS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘policyholder’ means any person 
listed as a named or additional insured on the dec-
larations page of a policy for flood insurance cov-
erage made available under this title; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘technical assistance report’ 
means a report created for the purpose of furnishing 
technical assistance to an insurance claims adjuster 
assigned under the national flood insurance pro-
gram, including any report created by an engineer, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:21 Sep 29, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00142
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5484.IH
H5484
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
143 
a surveyor, a salvor, an architect, or a certified pub-
lic accountant. 
‘‘(b) PROVISION OF COPIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 
552a of title 5, United States Code, not later than 
1 week after the date on which the Administrator re-
ceives a written request, or a request submitted on-
line, from a policyholder, and with respect to a claim 
for loss submitted by the policyholder for any dam-
age to or loss of property that is covered by the pol-
icy, the Administrator shall provide a true, complete, 
and unredacted copy of— 
‘‘(A) all documents that constitute the 
claim file of the insurance company with respect 
to the claim, in accordance with the memo-
randum issued by the Administrator on June 1, 
2018, entitled ‘Guidance for the Release of 
Claim File Information to Policyholders’ (WYO 
Bulletin W–18012) (or any successor docu-
ment); 
‘‘(B) any document created by any ad-
juster in scoping the loss, including measure-
ments, photographs, and notes; 
‘‘(C) any estimates of damages with re-
spect to the claim; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:21 Sep 29, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00143
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5484.IH
H5484
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB