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Home > News & Events > Press Releases

Joint Press Release
October 11, 2013

Agencies request comment on proposed flood
insurance rule
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Farm Credit Administration
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
National Credit Union Administration
Office of Comptroller of the Currency
For immediate release
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Five federal regulatory agencies are issuing a joint notice of proposed
rulemaking to amend regulations pertaining to loans secured by property
located in special flood hazard areas. The proposed rule would
implement certain provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance
Reform Act of 2012 (Biggert-Waters) with respect to private flood
insurance, the escrow of flood insurance payments, and the forcedplacement of flood insurance. Separate from the agencies' joint
proposal, Biggert-Waters also mandated other changes to the National
Flood Insurance Program.
The proposed rule would require that regulated lending institutions
accept private flood insurance as defined in Biggert-Waters to satisfy the
mandatory purchase requirements and solicits comment on whether the
agencies should adopt additional regulations on the acceptance of flood
insurance policies issued by private insurers. In addition, the proposal
would require regulated lending institutions to escrow payments and
fees for flood insurance for any new or outstanding loans secured by
residential improved real estate or a mobile home, not including

business, agricultural and commercial loans, unless the institutions
qualify for the statutory exception.
The proposal includes new and revised sample notice forms and
clauses concerning the availability of private flood insurance coverage
and the escrow requirement. Finally, the proposal would clarify that
regulated lending institutions have the authority to charge a borrower for
the cost of force-placed flood insurance coverage beginning on the date
on which the borrower's coverage lapsed or became insufficient and
would stipulate the circumstances under which a lender must terminate
force-placed flood insurance coverage and refund payments to a
borrower.
The agencies' proposal would implement only the provisions of BiggertWaters relating to the mandatory purchase of flood insurance over which
the agencies have jurisdiction. Accordingly, regulated lending institutions
should review Biggert-Waters for further information about revisions to
the flood insurance statutes that will not be implemented through this
rulemaking.
The proposed rule is being issued by the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, the Farm Credit Administration, the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration
and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The public will have until December 10, 2013, to review and comment
on most of the proposal. However, comments related to the proposed
Paperwork Reduction Act analysis will be due 60 days after the rule is
published in the Federal Register.
Federal Register notice: HTML | PDF
Media Contacts:
Federal Reserve
Board
FCA
FDIC
NCUA
OCC

Barbara
Hagenbaugh

202-4522955
703-883Mike Stokke
4056
202-898Greg Hernandez
6984
703-518John Fairbanks
6336
202-649Stephanie Collins
6870

Last Update: October 11, 2013

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