Flood Insurance: Congressional Action Could Help Increase Coverage for At-Risk Properties
What GAO Found Most U.S. property owners are unprotected from flood risk. As of April 2026, 86 percent of high-risk properties did not have National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage. The number of NFIP policies declined from 5.5 million in 2010 to 4.5 million in 2026. Growth in the private market offset this decline, and private policies accounted for 14 percent of all policies in 2025. Federal law requires property owners with federally backed mortgages to purchase flood insurance if their property is in a special flood hazard area (SFHA) designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This mandatory purchase requirement is the primary reason consumers purchase flood i.
Reported by Maria LopezFlood Insurance: Congressional Action Could Help Increase Coverage for At-Risk Properties.
The item is dated Thu, 01 Oct 2026 07:12:03 -0400.
TeamCog is carrying it as a audits report from GAO reports and testimonies RSS.
What GAO Found Most U.S. property owners are unprotected from flood risk.
As of April 2026, 86 percent of high-risk properties did not have National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage.
The number of NFIP policies declined from 5.5 million in 2010 to 4.5 million in 2026.
Growth in the private market offset this decline, and private policies accounted for 14 percent of all policies in 2025.
Federal law requires property owners with federally backed mortgages to purchase flood insurance if their property is in a special flood hazard area (SFHA) designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Official Source
GAO reports and testimonies RSS. Accessed 2026-10-01T15:00:02.348Z.