[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 68 (Monday, April 8, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 24415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07388]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management Agency
44 CFR Part 61
[Docket ID FEMA-2024-0004]
RIN 1660-AB06
National Flood Insurance Program: Standard Flood Insurance
Policy, Homeowner Flood Form; Extension of Comment Period
AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland
Security.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is extending
the public comment period for its notice of proposed rulemaking
published February 6, 2024. The proposed rule would revise the Standard
Flood Insurance Policy by adding a new Homeowner Flood Form and five
accompanying endorsements. The new Homeowner Flood Form would replace
the Dwelling Form as a source of coverage for homeowners of one-to-four
family residences. Together, the new Homeowner Flood Form and
endorsements would more closely align with property and casualty
homeowners insurance and provide increased options and coverage in a
more user-friendly and comprehensible format.
DATES: Written comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking published
at 89 FR 8282 (Feb. 6, 2024) may be submitted until 11:59 p.m. Eastern
Time (ET) on Friday, May 31, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket ID FEMA-2024-
0004, via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly Bronowicz, Product and Policy
Development Division Director, Federal Insurance Directorate,
Resilience, (202) 646-2559, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 6, 2024, FEMA published a notice
of proposed rulemaking that would revise the Standard Flood Insurance
Policy (SFIP) by adding a new Homeowner Flood Form and five
accompanying endorsements. This new form would replace the Dwelling
Form as a source of coverage for homeowners of one-to-four family
residences and would more closely align with property and casualty
homeowners insurance, as well as provide increased options and coverage
in a more user-friendly and comprehensible format.\1\ FEMA has not
substantively updated its flood insurance products--the Dwelling Form,
the General Property Form, and the Residential Condominium Building
Association Policy (RCBAP)--since 2000. While these products have
performed ably over two decades of service, they are overdue for
revision. FEMA seeks to update the SFIP to better serve a growing
percentage of the public looking for ways to manage their risk through
insurance. Consistent with the National Flood Insurance Act (NFIA) of
1968, FEMA must provide by regulation the general terms and conditions
of insurability for properties eligible for flood insurance coverage.
42 U.S.C. 4013(a). The proposed new Homeowner Flood Form would update
the general terms and conditions of insurability under the NFIP while
also modifying the existing regulations and policy to make the program
more effective and less burdensome for homeowner policyholders.
Overall, FEMA aims to improve the homeowner policyholder experience
with the NFIP through the proposed Homeowner Flood Form by simplifying
coverage terms, reducing complexity, and resolving key challenges faced
by homeowner policyholders.
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\1\ 89 FR 8282. Commenters may reference the notice of proposed
rulemaking for a more fulsome description of proposed changes.
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Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.; 6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.
Deanne Criswell,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2024-07388 Filed 4-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-52-P