NAHB Urges Long-Term NFIP Reauthorization, Warns Against Privatization

In a joint letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, NAHB and the National Association of Realtors urged the secretaries, as co-chairs of the FEMA Review Council, to:

• Maintain and improve FEMA’s disaster preparedness and response capabilities.
• Reconsider recommendations that would restrict disaster declarations and assistance programs.
• Reject privatization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
• Support long-term reauthorization of the NFIP.

“Maintaining a strong federal role, alongside long-term reauthorization and thoughtful reform of the National Flood Insurance Program, will be critical to FEMA’s continued success and to the nation’s overall disaster preparedness, recovery, and resilience,” the letter stated.

While NAHB and NAR support many of the council’s recommendations to strengthen disaster response, they oppose its proposal to force existing NFIP policyholders into the private market.

“While a stronger private market should be encouraged, it is not prudent or realistic to expect the private sector to absorb the estimated 35 to 45 million high-risk properties identified by the American Property Casualty Insurance Association,” the letter stated. “A reformed NFIP, alongside a growing private market, remains essential to ensuring affordability, availability, and overall market stability.”

NAHB and NAR also support several of the council’s NFIP reform recommendations, including modernizing flood mapping, addressing repetitive-loss properties, and eliminating duplicative or burdensome Endangered Species Act requirements.

The two trade groups also endorsed the council’s recommendations to:

• Preserve and strengthen FEMA’s support role by building state and local capacity while ensuring a federal backstop remains in place to deliver resources quickly during major disasters.
• Expedite mitigation funding so communities know upfront how funds can be used, rebuild faster, and reduce long-term risk.
• Simplify and streamline assistance programs by reducing paperwork, improving consistency, and helping FEMA deliver funding and support to communities more quickly.