At a glance
- What changed
- FEMA added guidance that an NFIP policy effective date cannot be further than 90 days from the application date, and it renamed the Renewal Notice a Renewal Bill.
- Who it affects
- People buying or changing a National Flood Insurance Program policy with an effective date of December 1, 2026 or later, and the Write Your Own companies that issue those policies.
- What to do
- If you need flood cover, apply close enough to the date you want the policy to start that the 90-day limit still fits. Ask your agent what the new declarations page will say about premium costs.
- Starts
On this page
On June 2, 2026, FEMA sent Write Your Own companies bulletin W-26001. The changes apply to National Flood Insurance Program policies effective December 1, 2026. They are manual and paperwork rules. They are not a new way to set the premium.
What changes
The bulletin adds guidance that a policy effective date cannot be further than 90 days from the application date. If you apply in August for a policy you want to start in January, that gap is longer than 90 days, and the new guidance says it cannot.
It also adds a postmark rule: for payments received with a USPS postmark, the insurer must keep a copy of the postmark date in the policy file.
The Renewal Notice is renamed the Renewal Bill, and the copy of that notice is renamed the Renewal Bill Copy. The declarations page gets a new line next to the premium heading: visit floodsmart.gov/premiumcosts for more information about how premiums are calculated.
Who it affects
This is for people who buy NFIP flood insurance, not for a burst pipe on a homeowners policy. Does homeowners insurance cover a burst pipe? is the indoor-leak page. FEMA's NFIP pricing page is still the place that explains how the premium itself is set. That pricing approach, Risk Rating 2.0, was already fully in place as of April 1, 2023.
What you still owe or still need to do
The Insurance Information Institute says an HO-3 covers water from a burst pipe but does not cover flood damage. Standing water from a supply line is still the homeowners claim, and outdoor flood water is still the flood claim. What to do when water is in the house does not change because of this bulletin.
What to do now
If you need flood cover for a closing or a lender, apply close enough to the start date that the 90-day limit still fits. Ask the agent to show you the new declarations language. If you already have an NFIP policy, the rename of the renewal mail is the part you will see first.
Pages we updated
This post is new. The burst-pipe question already points here for people who also hold, or need, a flood policy.
Sources
Who wrote and checked this page
- Written by
- Soaked SOS editorial staff. Who runs this site
- Facts checked
- , by the Soaked SOS editorial staff, against the sources listed on this page.
- Licensed professional
- None. No licensed restoration contractor or industrial hygienist has checked this page.
Want a crew to look at the water?
Soaked SOS and one or more water-damage companies that serve your area may call and text you to talk through what you are seeing. Asking is free, and the call is not a bid.