Flood Insurance Grace Period Expiring for Some Policies Thursday September 03, 2020 10:46 am

Terrebonne Parish

Department of Planning and Zoning

Recovery Assistance and Mitigation Planning

FloodSafe Minute

Flood Insurance Grace Period Expiring for Some Policies

Due to COVID-19, the National Flood Insurance Program extended the usual 30-day grace period to renew a policy to 120-Days.  This is still ongoing, but those policies that were extended in the spring are coming due.  Failure to renew a policy at the end of the grace period will lose any grandfathering from continuous coverage.  A new policy would need to be purchased, which may lose some benefits of the lapsed policy.  Please see below for details provided by the National Flood Insurance Program Regional Office.

 There are over 5,000 NFIP policies in Louisiana set to lapse in the next seven weeks.

• If you have a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) flood insurance policy that just expired, you may still be able to renew in full and then file a claim for losses due to Hurricane Laura or the next event with flooding potential. August is just the beginning of peak hurricane season, and preparing for peak hurricane season means having flood insurance. Call your insurance agent or company, or the NFIP Call Center at 1-800-427-4661 to determine if your policy is still within a renewal grace period.
• NFIP policies typically have a 30-day grace period, but because budgets have been stretched thin due to COVID-19, FEMA extended the grace period from 30 days to 120 days for policies that have an expiration date between February 13, 2020, and June 15, 2020. For these policies, the renewal premium must be received within 120 days of the policy expiration date to avoid a lapse in coverage. To read the Extension of Grace Period, W-20002 bulletin, click here.
• For example, for a policy that expired on May 9, 2020, the NFIP insurer must receive the renewal premium payment on or before September 5, 2020, to avoid a lapse and be eligible for claims. For a policy that expired on June 15, the last day of the grace period extension window, the NFIP insurer must receive the renewal premium payment on or before October 12, 2020, to avoid a lapse in coverage, and still be eligible for claims.
• Visit www.floodsmart.gov/hurricane to learn more, find a provider, and get information on what to do before and after a flood.