Woo-hoo.  On Friday, March 21, President Obama signed HR3370, also known as the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014.  This bill was passed with hopes to address some of the unintended consequences impacting flood policyholders due to the Biggert-Waters Reform Act of 2012 (BW12).  Now that the president has approved the Affordability Act, FEMA and the NFIP are actively working to analyze the changes this new law brings and determine how each element will be implemented.  At this point, industry analysts believe it may take 12-18 months before FEMA begins issuing refund checks or executing against any of the bill’s primary changes.

In the meantime, for an overview of the key highlights we expect to see from the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, please refer to NAR’s latest information