The National Flood Insurance Program was allowed (by Congress) to expire on March 28, 2010, which means that if you tried to apply for this type of insurance this past week, you weren’t able to. And Congress is now in recess, which means this issue won’t come up again until they reconvene.

An interesting article in the New York Times discusses why Congress let this expire.

This will really only affect those folks who are trying to purchase a home where flood insurance in required. If you are trying to gain this type of insurance without the requirement, hold on to the hope that perhaps this issue can be resolved in the coming months. This article from Housing Watch sheds some light on the details of the situation, including the time frames for renewing existing policies, and which parts of the country are most affected.

**Image credit: U.S. Geological Survey