"No state has more flood insurance policies than Florida, home to 1.7 million of the 4.7 million homes covered by the program, which is managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. While the program can still pay claims during the shutdown, a lengthy suspension could thwart real estate transactions where mortgages require flood insurance, said Shannon McGahn, executive vice president and chief advocacy officer at the National Association of Realtors."
"Florida Realtors president Tim Weisheyer said in an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the organization has not yet heard of "significant issues or delays or cancellations of closings" from its network of 240,000 agents. But, he said, "it's only a day and a half into this process." He added, "I have a suspicion that as time continues, when we move into the beginning or middle of next week if there's still not a solution in play from Congress, the concerns from our members are going to become more significant.""
The government shutdown halted the National Flood Insurance Program's ability to write new policies or renew existing ones, though the program can still pay claims. A prolonged suspension could block real estate transactions where mortgages require flood insurance because lenders cannot issue government-backed mortgages for properties in FEMA-designated special flood hazard areas without coverage. Florida accounts for 1.7 million of the program's 4.7 million policies and has access to a large private flood insurance market with multiple authorized companies. Industry leaders report few immediate closing delays but warn risks will grow if the shutdown continues.
Read at Sun Sentinel
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]