Moving to Delaware? Your Flood Insurance Has a Deadline (2026)

Read the full guide: https://www.activeadultsdelaware.com/... What it costs to own a second home in Delaware: https://www.activeadultsdelaware.com/... All our Delaware retirement and second home guides: https://www.activeadultsdelaware.com/... How to read the flood map for an address (Christine's Flood Zones video):    • Delaware Flood Zones: What to Check Before...   Get a free federal flood insurance estimate for an address on FEMA's own FloodSmart site (we sell no insurance and are paid by nobody who does): https://www.floodsmart.gov/policy-quote CHAPTERS 00:00 The December 11 date and why it reaches your settlement 00:52 What actually happens on December 11 01:29 What a lapse stops, and what it does not 02:38 What lenders have done in past lapses 03:01 Why this lands hardest on a second home 03:54 If you are buying 05:02 If you are selling 05:35 The short list for all three counties 06:21 Why work with us on this 07:14 The market in New Castle, Kent and Sussex 07:46 Two free phone calls There is a date on the calendar that almost nobody buying or selling a house in Delaware has heard of, and it is December 11, 2026. That is the day the National Flood Insurance Program's authority runs out unless Congress extends it again, and if you are under contract on a house in a flood zone, that date can reach your settlement table. Broker Bill says up front what he is not. He is a broker. He is not an insurance agent, not a flood insurance broker, not your lawyer and not your financial advisor. He sells no policy of any kind and he is paid by nobody who does. Every fact in this video comes off the National Association of REALTORS, FEMA's own program material or the state of Delaware, and the one phone number he asks you to write down is the state's free consumer line, not his: the Delaware Department of Insurance, 800-282-8611. If the program's authority lapses, it cannot issue new or renewal flood policies until Congress reauthorizes it. But a policy that already exists stays in effect right through to its own expiration date, including its 30 day grace period, and claims keep getting paid as long as FEMA has the funds. A lapse is not your coverage vanishing. It is the tap for new policies being turned off. Then the sentence that is worth the whole video. An insurer can assign a seller's existing federal flood policy to the buyer by substituting the names on it, with the coverage staying in place and no new policy written. And in past lapses most federal lending regulators suspended the requirement to carry flood insurance, which leaves each lender to decide for itself whether it will lend on a house in a special flood hazard area. That is a phone call you have to make. Bill Davis, Broker/Owner Active Adults Realty 1504 Savannah Road, Lewes, DE 19958 302-424-1890 brokerbill@activeadultsrealty.com https://www.activeadultsdelaware.com What is happening around Delaware this month: https://www.activeadultsdelaware.com/... SOURCES Holland & Knight, "Beyond the Midterms: Congress Faces Converging Year-End Deadlines," October 9, 2026 (NFIP extended through December 11, 2026 in the continuing resolution). Public Law 119-103, Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, signed September 2, 2026. National Association of REALTORS, "FAQ: National Flood Insurance Program Expiration," read October 19, 2026 (lapse mechanics, policy assignment, past lender practice): https://www.nar.realtor/flood-insuran... FEMA FloodSmart, "Flood Insurance 101," read October 19, 2026 (30 day waiting period and the loan closing exception). DNREC, "Flood Risk and Avoidance," Delaware Flood Planning Tool, read October 19, 2026: https://dnrec.delaware.gov/climate-co... Delaware Department of Insurance Consumer Services: 800-282-8611 toll free in Delaware, or 302-674-7300. Redfin county housing market pages for New Castle, Kent and Sussex, three months ending September 2026, read October 19, 2026. This video is general information about a federal program's authorization date, flood insurance mechanics and the Delaware housing market. It is not legal, tax, financial or insurance advice. Active Adults Realty is not a lender, a law firm, an insurance agency or an insurance producer, sells no insurance of any kind and is not compensated by anyone who does. Program authorization, lender requirements and policy terms change. Verify anything you plan to rely on with your own lender, your own licensed insurance agent, the Delaware Department of Insurance and your own advisors before you act on it. Active Adults Realty is an Equal Housing Opportunity brokerage. We do business in accordance with the Fair Housing Act.