War RoomOctober 1, 2026

Flood Insurance: Congressional Action Could Help Increase Coverage for At-Risk Properties

3 reports in this intelligence package

Intelligence Package

Flash Brief

Flood Insurance: Congressional Action Could Help Increase Coverage for At-Risk Properties

Breaking analysis of what happened and who is affected.

Read full report →Segment Impact

Flood Insurance: Congressional Action Could Help Increase Coverage for At-Risk Properties

Deep dive into how this impacts each market segment.

This GAO finding highlights a significant gap in flood insurance uptake: as of April 2026, most high‑risk properties lack NFIP coverage (86 percent unprotected), NFIP policies declined from 5.5 million in 2010 to 4.5 million in 2026, and private flood insurance accounted for 14 percent of policies…

Read full report →Action Kit

Flood Insurance: Congressional Action Could Help Increase Coverage for At-Risk Properties

Actionable checklists and implementation guidance.

A GAO review found that most high-risk U.S. properties lack NFIP coverage: as of April 2026, 86% of high-risk properties did not have NFIP coverage and NFIP policies declined from about 5.5 million in 2010 to 4.5 million in 2026.…

Read full report →

TL;DR

The GAO found that most U.S. property owners at high risk of flooding lack insurance: as of April 2026, 86 percent of high‑risk properties did not carry National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage, and NFIP policies declined from 5.5 million in 2010 to 4.5 million in 2026. Growth in the private market offset some of that decline, with private policies accounting for 14 percent of all policies in 2025. GAO concluded the mandatory purchase requirement tied to FEMA-designated special flood hazard areas (SFHAs) does not reach many at-risk properties because FEMA maps omit many flood risks (notably heavy rainfall) and about 13 million high-risk properties fall outside SFHAs. GAO identified four congressional actions that could raise coverage — each would need statutory authority — including broadening how flood risk is determined, publishing property-level risk data, requiring lenders to provide flood-coverage quotes, and increasing NFIP limits. Contractors in insurance services, risk modeling, geospatial analytics, and disaster management should anticipate demand shifts and prepare capture/proposal activities; immediate actions include updating opportunity pipelines, notifying BD/capture teams, and preparing proposal artifacts that align to potential congressional workstreams and agency needs.

Key Points

What happened: GAO found widespread underinsurance for flood risk — 86% of high‑risk properties lacked NFIP coverage as of April 2026; NFIP policies fell from 5.5 million (2010) to 4.5 million (2026); private policies made up 14% of policies in 2025. GAO identified four congressional actions that could increase coverage and noted some affordability and private-market barriers previously reported.
Who is affected: Insurance Services; Risk Assessment and Modeling; Disaster Management; Geospatial Services; Data Analytics; Financial Services; Mortgage Services; and the segmented agencies listed in source material: DHS (Department of Homeland Security), FEMA, HUD, USDA, VA, SBA. Specific NAICS codes in segmentation: 524126, 524130, 524210, 541990, 541370, 541620, 522310, 522390.
Timeline: GAO analysis used data through April 2026 and referenced 2008–2026 FEMA data and 2018–2025 private market data; other implementation timelines for congressional action are TBD pending source review.
What contractors should do NOW: Alert BD and capture leads, rescore and prioritize pipeline opportunities tied to flood risk/insurance and data programs, prepare modular proposal content for risk‑modeling and geospatial work, and ready budget and staffing scenarios for potential increases in agency procurements tied to FEMA/DHS/HUD/workstreams. Use Cabrillo systems listed below to automate rescoring and capture workflows.

Who Is Affected

Market segments: Insurance Services; Risk Assessment and Modeling; Disaster Management; Geospatial Services; Data Analytics; Financial Services; Mortgage Services.
Agencies named in source material: DHS, FEMA, HUD, USDA, VA, SBA.
Specific NAICS codes (from segmentation): 524126, 524130, 524210, 541990, 541370, 541620, 522310, 522390.
Contract vehicles: Specific contract vehicles pending source review.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does GAO say Congress must act to increase flood insurance coverage?

A: Yes. GAO identified four potential actions that could increase coverage and noted each would require statutory authority from Congress.

Q: Which flood risks are not captured by the mandatory purchase requirement?

A: GAO found FEMA maps used to determine the mandatory purchase requirement do not capture all flood risks, especially heavy rainfall; GAO’s analysis showed about 13 million high‑risk properties fall outside FEMA SFHAs.

Q: Will agencies immediately publish property-level risk data or require lender quotes?

A: Pending source review — GAO recommended these actions as options that could help, but any change would require Congressional statutory authority and follow-on agency rulemaking or guidance.

Definitions

NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program): The federal program providing flood insurance to property owners; referenced throughout GAO’s findings on policy counts and coverage.
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency): The federal agency whose SFHA maps determine where the mandatory purchase requirement for federally backed mortgages applies.
SFHA (Special Flood Hazard Area): FEMA-designated areas used to trigger mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements for federally backed mortgages.
Mandatory Purchase Requirement: Federal law requiring property owners with federally backed mortgages to purchase flood insurance when a property is in a FEMA-designated SFHA.

Intelligence Response

Cabrillo Signals War Room — Already detected this GAO report and delivered this briefing. War Room continues high‑priority monitoring of GAO findings, congressional actions on statutory changes, and agency follow-up (especially DHS/FEMA, HUD, USDA, VA, SBA).
Cabrillo Signals Match Engine — Automatically re‑scores opportunities and pipelines influenced by this brief (e.g., risk modeling, geospatial data contracts, insurance services) so capture teams see priority changes immediately.
Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub — Tracks affected agencies, listed NAICS codes, and captures saved searches and alerts for related solicitations on SAM.gov (System for Award Management) and agency portals.
Proposal Studio (Proposal OS) & Proposal Studio Workflow Tracker — Provide prebuilt compliance matrices, win themes, and 9‑gate capture workflows to accelerate bid/no‑bid decisions, RFP response assembly, and audit‑ready documentation for capture teams.

Who to notify

BD Director / Capture Manager — to re‑prioritize pipelines and align resourcing.
Proposal Lead — to start modular proposal content updates.
Risk Modeling/Technical Lead — to scope modeling/geospatial capability statements.
Gov Affairs / Public Policy — to track statutory developments and congressional interest.

First 48‑hour playbook

Hour 0–4: Issue this briefing to BD/capture/proposal leads and Gov Affairs; create a dedicated saved search in Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub for GAO report follow-ons and DHS/FEMA solicitations.
Hour 4–12: Run Match Engine rescoring across active opportunities; flag top-tier pursuits for immediate capture standups; assign Proposal Studio templates to each pursuit.
Hour 12–24: Hold capture standups for prioritized opportunities; begin drafting modular technical approach and compliance matrices in Proposal Studio; log actions in Workflow Tracker.
Hour 24–48: Complete initial cost/rate estimates and staffing plans for top pursuits; Gov Affairs drafts monitoring plan for congressional activity; schedule follow-up War Room updates as new signals appear.