Flood insurance

The long-term recovery for thousands of Texans whose homes were decimated by Hurricane Harvey rests with a Trump administration government outsider who wants his agency's budget cut by billions of dollars.

The need to raise the U.S. debt limit, pass a budget, provide relief for victims of Hurricane Harvey and enact flood insurance and tax reform will dominate the remaining legislative calendar this fall.

Residential flood damage from Hurricane Harvey could reach as high as $37 billion, with more than two-thirds of losses not covered by insurance, according to CoreLogic estimates.

Contributing to the high losses is the fact that Texas, despite being one of the states most vulnerable to storms, has one of the most relaxed approaches to building codes, inspections and other protections.

The massive flooding in Texas is sure to put pressure on lawmakers to resolve differences over the National Flood Insurance Program, but a short-term extension of the program is still the most likely scenario.

Hurricane Harvey’s second act across southern Texas is turning into an economic catastrophe — with damages likely to stretch into tens of billions of dollars and an unusually large share of victims lacking adequate insurance.

With Hurricane Harvey rapidly making its way toward the Texas coast, lenders and servicers have activated business continuity plans to accommodate pending transactions and provide options and support to existing borrowers affected by the storm.

Florida wades deeper into hurricane season as the debate heightens over what to do with the deeply indebted National Flood Insurance Program and its coverage of properties prone to repeated flooding.

House Financial Services Committee leaders and two top real estate trade groups have cut a deal on a bill to reform the National Flood Insurance Program.

Senate Banking Committee leaders are hoping to pass the bill quickly ahead of a looming deadline of Sept. 30 when the program expires.