On March 21st, the new Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 was signed into law by President Obama. It repeals some provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 and changes others. In addition, FEMA changed their floodplain maps, and the WV legislature passed SB 621 (Authorizing Insurers offer flood insurance, which is meant to encourage private insurance companies to offer flood insurance in addition to NFIP). CCAWV turned to Richard Carte, West Virginia NFIP Assistant Coordinator, for some help in navigating the new laws. He explained that the new federal law, in particular, has many provisions that they are still sorting out – the how and when of FEMA refunds, the grandfather clause, etc. He expects they will have the answers to these questions and more in a few months. CCAWV hopes to have a representative from the West Virginia NFIP office at our annual meeting to explain how this will affect counties.
In the meantime, the website www.floodsmart.gov released an online Toolkit for county officials that can be found here: https://www.floodsmart.gov/toolkits/insurance/officials.htm. It includes templates for notifications, presentations, fact sheets, and brochures. In addition, FEMA released a five page overview from the federal perspective that commissioners may find informative: http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1396551935597-4048b68f6d695a6eb6e6e7II8d3ce464/HFIAA_Overview_FINAL_03282014.pdf
If more information becomes available prior to the August meeting, we will be sure to pass it along. CCAWV will be compiling questions, case studies, and specific issues for the WV NFIP office to address at the August meeting – please forward these to megan@ccawv.org
