FLOOD PROGRAM BORROWING AUTHORITY MUST BE EXTENDED

In wake of disastrous hurricane season, extension is needed to fund all claims

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 14, 2005--The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) asks Congress to extend the borrowing authority of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) as quickly as possible.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) distributed a memo to Write-Your-Own companies Friday informing them that lines of credit were suspended until further Congressional action regarding an extension of borrowing authority. With claims expected to exceed $23 billion, extended borrowing authority is necessary in order to meet consumer needs.

“Extending the borrowing authority is a matter of immediate urgency,” says Charles E. Symington Jr., Big “I” senior vice president for government affairs and federal relations. “We ask Congress to take this matter up as expeditiously as possible, so that the NFIP can extend a line of credit to Write-Your-Own companies for the payment of claims.”

The initial borrowing limit of $1.5 billion from the U.S. Treasury was extended by Congress in the immediate wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but even this extension will be inadequate to meet the anticipated claims.

“Given the catastrophic losses, Congress must act as quickly as possible in order to help consumers settle their claims and get on with their lives,” says Patrick O’Brien, Big “I” director of federal government affairs.

Founded in 1896, IIABA (the Big “I”) is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, and health—as well as employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.

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