§61.17. Group Flood Insurance Policy. — Inbound Citations

(9) Individuals identified by FEMA as eligible for assistance for flood insurable damage under the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. 5174, as a result of flood damage caused by a Presidentially-declared major disaster and who reside in a special flood hazard area (SFHA) may be included in a Group Flood Insurance Policy (GFIP) established under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulations at 44 CFR 61.17.

(i) FEMA or the State must withhold this portion of the Other Needs award and provide it to the NFIP on behalf of individuals and households who are eligible for coverage. The coverage must be equivalent to the maximum assistance amount established under the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. 5174.

(ii) FEMA or the State IHP staff must provide the NFIP with records of individuals who received assistance for flood-insurable losses within a SFHA and are to be insured through the GFIP. Records of applicants to be insured must be accompanied by payments to cover the premium amounts for each applicant for the 3-year policy term. The NFIP will then issue a Certificate of Flood Insurance to each applicant. Flood insurance coverage becomes effective on the 30th day following the receipt of records of GFIP insureds and their premium payments from the State or FEMA, and such coverage terminates 36 months from the inception date of the GFIP, which is 60 days from the date of the disaster declaration.

(iii) Insured applicants would not be covered if they are determined to be ineligible for coverage based on a number of exclusions established by the NFIP. Therefore, once applicants/policyholders receive the Certificate of Flood Insurance that contains a list of the policy exclusions, they should review that list to see if they are ineligible for coverage. Those applicants who fail to do this may find that their property is, in fact, not covered by the insurance policy when the next flooding incident occurs and they file for losses. Once the applicants find that their damaged buildings, contents, or both, are ineligible for coverage, they should notify the NFIP in writing in order to have their names removed from the GFIP, and to have the flood insurance maintenance requirement expunged from the data-tracking system.