National Flood Insurance Program

Only NFIP policy holders in Sanibel and the city of Fort Myers are in good standing. Others at risk of losing steep discounts.Lee County and Fort Myers Beach officials are hoping they can help calm fears those federal notices may bring.

There are 5 million National Flood Insurance Program policy holders in the country, many will likely would go without insurance because of the cost on the private market

Tens of thousands of federal flood insurance policy holders in Cape Coral, Fort Myers Beach, Bonita Springs, Estero and unincorporated Lee County will continue to get steep discounts on its premiums, government leaders announced Friday.

The FEMA decision will impact a majority of federal flood insurance policy holders in Lee County.

Lee County originally received a 30-day extension to provide documents to FEMA by May 9. A new extension the county received Friday puts June 10 as the new deadline for document submittal.

A federal judge has rejected a request by Florida and other states for a preliminary injunction to block changes to the National Flood Insurance Program that have led to higher premiums for many property owners — though he ruled that a broader legal battle can continue.U.S. District Judge Darrel James Papillion, who is based in New Orleans, issued a 56-page ruling last week that pointed to potential problems if he issued an injunction against a risk-rating system that began taking effect in 2021 and was fully in place in April 2023.

A notice from Lee County said a federal decision will affect those with flood insurance — and those in need of flood insurance — in unincorporated areas and four cities in the county.FEMA sources said the discount removal was due to what they said was a large amount of unpermitted work, lack of documentation, and failure to properly monitor activity in special flood hazard areas, including substantial damage compliance.

The Department of Financial Services is hosting three Insurance Villages January 23 through January 28 in Punta Gorda, Englewood and Fort Myers

Collier County Commissioners held a town hall Tuesday night with representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). For nearly three hours, residents asked questions and expressed their frustrations as they seek help recovering from Hurricane Ian’s catastrophic damage.