While Federal Flood Insurance Program Expires, Consumers Have an Additional and Viable Option for Flood Coverage
Scores of Americans Panic as Time Runs Out For $8,000 and $6,500 Home Tax Credits, Can't close on Home Purchase without Flood Insurance
SALT LAKE CITY, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Congress has allowed the National Flood Insurance Program to expire for the second time this year, leaving scores of American homeowners in limbo. The flood program lapsed Sunday night after the U.S. Senate adjourned without taking action on a bill, HR 4851, that would have extended the flood program and other federal programs. Congress does not reconvene until April 12, meaning that homeowners will find themselves without coverage and ruining any chance of real estate closings in flood-prone and other areas for more than two weeks. Fortunately, a relatively new online catastrophe insurance program, www.CatCoverage.com, is providing consumers with an additional and viable option for flood coverage. Poulton Associates is the program's administrator.
Many consumers continue to believe that the only place to secure flood insurance is through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) administered by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA). However, a growing number of homeowners and insurance professionals have discovered an alternative to the NFIP that has proven to be attractive to consumers looking for insurance coverage. According to Poulton Associates the Internet based Natural Catastrophe Insurance Program (NCIP), available at www.CatCoverage.com is the nation's only privately underwritten, fully Internet based program that offers coverage for floods, landslides, and earthquakes in one policy underwritten by Certain Underwriters at Lloyds.
Expiration of the NFIP's comes at a particularly bad time for the beleaguered real estate industry because it's the end of the month, when the biggest proportion of closings are scheduled. Deals to buy homes in flood prone and other areas can't close unless the lender has proof of flood insurance, and the situation leaves Realtors, insurance agents, title companies and banks scrambling to find ways to keep deals together. Unfortunately, extending sales agreements until Congress reconvenes may not be possible. Real estate agents are busy helping buyers put homes under contract by April 30, when time runs out for $8,000 and $6,500 tax credits jeopardizing the effectiveness of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as people rush to buy a home and other properties in order to make the purchase deadline. Until Congress approves a reauthorization, the NFIP cannot issue new policies, increase coverage or approve renewal policies. On the other hand, the NCIP has proven to be a stable and secure way to provide needed insurance coverage to many property owners at any time.
The NCIP is underwritten by certain syndicates at Lloyd's of London, using sophisticated mapping and virtual inspection technology that often results in consumers paying lower rates for landslide and flood coverage than for flood coverage alone. NCIP also allows the policy owner to select coverage not provided by the dominant NFIP flood only insurance programs; such as additional living expense for homeowners and business income and extra expenses for business property owners giving the consumer greater benefits for their money.
Poulton Associates Inc. is an established insurance broker located in Salt Lake City, Utah and is licensed in all fifty states. For more information please visit www.CatCoverage.com for insurance professionals, www.CatCoverage.biz for those not represented by an NCIP - CatCoverage producer or www.poulton.com.
SOURCE Poulton Associates
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