Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott has introduced several bills aimed at increasing transparency in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), reducing rate burdens, and enhancing support for the private flood insurance market.
One bill, the Removing Barriers to Private Flood Insurance Act, seeks to eliminate non-compete provisions that prevent companies participating in the NFIP’s Write Your Own (WYO) program from offering private flood insurance products.
The bill would also apply to agents, brokers, and organizations that sell both NFIP and private policies, allowing more open competition in the market.
Another measure, the Flood Insurance Consumer Choice Act, would allow policyholders who leave the NFIP to purchase a private policy and later return to the federal program without penalty.
Under current rules, gaps in NFIP coverage may disqualify returning policyholders from receiving grandfathered rates.
This bill would count time spent in the private market toward continuous coverage, preserving rate eligibility.
The third proposal, the Flood Insurance Transparency Act, would make claims, policy, and flood risk data from the NFIP publicly available.
This includes information on flood models, risk assessments, and analytical tools used by the program. The bill stipulates that personal identifying details will be protected.
Policy data would include only the amount and terms of coverage. Claims data would show the date and amount paid. Community and state identifiers would be disclosed to the ZIP code or census block level, without including street addresses.
The bill also mandates public disclosure of the number of multiple-loss properties within each NFIP-participating community.
Sen. Scott said the reforms are especially timely with hurricane season underway, noting that affordability and access to reliable coverage are top priorities for Florida residents and others in flood-prone areas.
He criticized the NFIP as historically inefficient, heavily indebted, and responsible for rate increases that disproportionately affect Florida taxpayers.
With hurricane season underway, families in Florida and across the nation have flood insurance top of mind and are seeking access to affordable, reliable coverage when they need it most.
Rick Scott, Florida Republican Senator
“The NFIP has historically been wildly inefficient, buried in debt and pushes unaffordable rate hikes that have been unfair to Florida’s taxpayers.”
