Bill Summary: H.R. 6620 (119th Congress, Introduced Dec. 11, 2025)

Purpose and Intent

H.R. 6620 amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to recognize private flood insurance as eligible for meeting continuous coverage requirements. The bill aims to ensure that periods of private flood insurance coverage can count toward continuous coverage standards used to determine eligibility or treatment under flood insurance programs and related protections.

Key Provisions

• Amendments to Section 1308 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015):
  • Adds new subsection (n): “Effect of Private Flood Insurance Coverage on Continuous Coverage Requirements.”
  • Provides that, for purposes of applying any statutory, regulatory, or administrative continuous coverage requirement (including under section 1307(g)(1)), the Administrator must consider any period during which a property was continuously covered by a flood insurance policy—whether offered through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or the private market—as a period of continuous coverage.
  • This period would be counted toward satisfying continuous coverage requirements as previously defined under the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a(a)).

Affected Parties and Impacts

• Affected Entities:

  • Property owners and policyholders who hold private flood insurance policies.
  • Lenders, lenders’ programs, and insurers that rely on continuous coverage status to determine risk, eligibility, or penalties.
  • Federal program administrators and regulators implementing continuous coverage rules.

• Practical Effects:

  • Expands the pool of acceptable continuous coverage by incorporating private flood insurance alongside NFIP coverage.
  • Potential effect on underwriting and lending decisions that hinge on uninterrupted flood coverage.
  • Could influence premium structuring or switching between NFIP and private market options, since both would count toward continuous coverage.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

• Status: Introduced in the House and referred to the Committee on Financial Services.
• Introduced: December 11, 2025.
• Legislative Actions Highlight:
  • 2025-12-11: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
  • 2025-12-11: Introduced in the House.

Notes

• The bill does not specify monetary costs or funding mechanisms.
• It does not alter the fundamental coverage requirements themselves; rather, it broadens what counts as continuous coverage for purposes of those requirements.
• If enacted, implementation would require guidance from the relevant Administrator to apply private flood insurance periods consistently under existing continuous-coverage rules.

This summary focuses on the substantive change: private flood insurance would be acknowledged as meeting continuous-coverage standards alongside NFIP coverage, influencing how continuous coverage is calculated in various flood-insurance-related programs and protections.