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Flow Welcomes FEMA Review Council's Eight-Point Plan for Private Flood Future
The President's FEMA Review Council Final Report, released May 7, 2026, recommends a national private flood insurance marketplace and voluntary take-out of NFIP policies — a model Flow has been operating since 2017.
Flow Flood expands flood coverage with innovative products like Coastal Protect for CBRA and V-Zone properties.
The FEMA Review Council's proposed national flood insurance marketplace would route consumer applications through a clearinghouse where qualified private carriers get the first opportunity to quote.
Co-founders cite Flow's existing seven-carrier marketplace as operational model; firm to submit formal public comment before June 8 federal deadline.
Most of the marketplace mechanics the Council describes are already operational. Flow has been quoting private flood carriers alongside the NFIP since 2017. The Council just confirmed the direction.”
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, May 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— Michael Pallas, Co-Founder, Flow
Flow Welcomes FEMA Review Council's Eight-Point Plan for Private Flood Future
Co-Founder Michael Pallas welcomes Council's reform plan, citing Flow's existing private flood marketplace as operational proof of concept; firm to submit formal public comment before June 8 deadline.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, May 19, 2026. Flow, the private flood insurance marketplace built for independent agents, today welcomed the recommendations of the President's FEMA Review Council Final Report released May 7, calling the plan a clarifying moment for the future of flood insurance in the United States.
The Council's report recommends a comprehensive overhaul of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which carries more than $20 billion in debt and roughly $700 million in annual interest payments. The plan centers on a strategic shift toward a primary role for the private market, with NFIP repositioned as a backstop rather than the default option for the nation's flood-exposed property owners.
Among the eight recommendations: continued implementation of Risk Rating 2.0 and modernized flood maps; a voluntary "take-out" program to transfer eligible NFIP policies to qualified private insurers; and evaluation of a national flood insurance marketplace operated as a centralized clearinghouse under FEMA oversight.
Under the proposed marketplace model, consumer applications would route through a clearinghouse where qualified private flood insurers receive the first opportunity to quote. Private offers within 10% of the NFIP Risk Rating 2.0 actuarial rate would route the policy to the private carrier; NFIP would write the policy only when no qualifying private offer is available. The mechanism echoes the Florida Citizens Property Insurance Clearinghouse, which has operated since 2014 to depopulate that state's insurer of last resort.
"Most of the marketplace mechanics the Council describes are already operational on private platforms today," said Michael Pallas, Co-Founder of Flow. "Flow has been offering private flood coverage alongside the NFIP in a single, agent-facing environment since 2017. What's new is federal recognition that this is the direction American flood insurance needs to move."
Pallas emphasized that a robust NFIP remains essential to the framework the Council envisions. "The program has covered millions of American homeowners for nearly six decades, particularly in higher-risk zones and underserved communities where private capacity has historically been limited or absent," he said. "Flow operates as a distribution partner to a major NFIP carrier precisely because we see that stabilizing role every day. The Council's recommendations aren't about dismantling NFIP. They're about positioning it as the backstop, not the default, so private capital carries primary risk where it can, and the federal program continues to serve where it must."
Pallas noted that implementation will be measured in years rather than months. Most of the Council's recommendations require Congressional action, and the most likely legislative vehicle is the September 30, 2026, NFIP reauthorization.
"Independent agents will be the linchpin of whatever marketplace emerges," added Abbe Sultan, Co-Founder of Flow. "The infrastructure to compare NFIP against multiple private carriers in a single quoting workflow already exists. We built it because agents asked us to."
Flow plans to submit formal public comment on the FEMA Review Council Final Report before the June 8, 2026, deadline. The company is also engaging with state insurance commissioners, federal regulators, and industry trade associations, including NAMIC, APCIA, and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big "I"), on operationalizing the recommendations.
A detailed analysis of the Council's NFIP recommendations and what they mean for agents is available on the Flow blog: https://flowinsurance.com/nfip-reform-private-flood-insurance/
About Flow
Flow is the private flood insurance marketplace built by agents for agents. Founded in 2017 by former independent agency owners Michael Pallas and Abbe Sultan, Flow operates a digital quoting platform that returns multiple private flood options alongside an NFIP indication in a single workflow, supporting both residential and commercial flood placements. Flow is a Lloyd's of London Coverholder and is licensed to operate in 45 states. The appointment process is open to independent agents with no production requirements.
Learn more at www.flowinsurance.com
Abbe Sultan
Flow Flood
+1 925-900-5949
abbe@flowinsurance.com
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