With days until the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) reauthorization deadline of January 30, 2026, the Coalition for Sustainable Insurance (CSFI) has released a white paper exploring long-term solutions to natural catastrophe insurance affordability and availability. While continuing to uplift the urgency of a multi-year NFIP reauthorization with common-sense reform provisions, CSFI encourages policymakers to study multi-peril insurance program options.
The full paper – “Policy Options for a National Natural Catastrophe Insurance Program” – can be read here. An executive summary can be reviewed here. Options put forward by CSFI are informed by legislative precedents in the U.S., international best practices, and academics’ proposals.
FIRM is a member of CSFI, contributing expertise and knowledge about the NFIP from the point of view of the Florida Keys. Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) first formed CSFI in 2013 as a unified voice in response to the Biggert-Waters Act. CSFI was a driving force behind the passage of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (HFIAA) compromise legislation. CSFI has remained active, growing to reach over 900 contacts across over 35 states, from Florida to Alaska. Since Risk Rating 2.0’s implementation in 2021, CSFI has educated NFIP policyholders about the new pricing methodology, while working with congressional offices towards a program that offers affordable coverage, minimizes the insurance gap, and incentivizes risk mitigation.
Back in 2024, FIRM posted on this website about the need for a National Catastrophe policy.
In the newly-released paper, CSFI cites research and findings that demonstrate an acute strain on homeowners insurance affordability and availability, partially driven by persistent natural catastrophe risk exposure. For example, 99% of counties have experienced a flood loss since 1996, but one million NFIP policyholders have dropped federal flood insurance since 2009. In 2025, the U.S. experienced a billion-dollar disaster every ten days, on average. About one in eight American homeowners have forgone homeowners insurance entirely, although every state remains materially exposed to various perils.
Thus, the paper evaluates policy options for a national natural catastrophe insurance framework with the goals of 1) increasing risk mitigation; 2) expanding risk distribution; and 3) reducing reinsurance volatility. CSFI specifically identifies three potential paths forward, with a multi-peril approach with comprehensive risk management central to each:
- A new federal reinsurance program for natural catastrophes, structured as a private-public pool or a large-loss backstop, like the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program
- A new government-sponsored enterprise offering natural hazard insurance policies based on a property’s exposure to the specific hazards and creating a secondary market for private investment in natural hazard transfer securities
- A cabinet-level FEMA administering a substantially reformed and modernized NFIP with expanded mandatory purchase requirements and expanded coverage for additional perils