Filing Suit Two Days Late Defeats Suit
Post number 5316
See the full video at https://rumble.com/v77yrkc-national-flood-insurance-is-interpreted-strictly.html and at https://youtu.be/L6J0dI1Uq0I
Pay Careful Consideration to Limitation Period in NFPA policy
In Luis Medina et al v. Wright National Flood Insurance Company, No. 8:25-cv-02628-SDM-AEP, United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Tampa Division (March 23, 2026) the USDC resolved a Flood insurance claims suit.
FACTS
Luis Medina and Luz Segura filed suit against Wright National Flood Insurance Company, alleging breach of contract stemming from flood damage to their home sustained on August 5, 2024. The property was covered under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy issued by Wright, which participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Wright sent the plaintiffs a partial denial of coverage via email on September 24, 2024, after an initial attempt to notify them failed. The plaintiffs initiated their lawsuit on September 26, 2025.
LAW
Claims under an NFIP policy are governed by a strict limitations period: suit must be filed within one year of the date the notice of disallowance or partial disallowance is mailed to the insured. This requirement is set forth in 42 U.S.C. § 4072 and 44 C.F.R. pt. 61, app. A(1), art. VII(O) (2022).
LEGAL ISSUES
The central legal issue WAs whether the plaintiffs’ claim was timely filed in accordance with the statutory one-year limitations period for NFIP policies. The defendant, Wright National Flood Insurance Company, moved to dismiss the action on the grounds that it was time-barred.
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The court noted that the plaintiffs received notice of partial disallowance on September 24, 2024. Their lawsuit was filed on September 26, 2025, more than one year after the notice was sent.
Because the limitations period is calculated from the date of mailing the notice, the claim was untimely.
The plaintiffs did not respond to Wright’s motion to dismiss. Accordingly, the court granted the motion to dismiss and ordered the case closed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 4072; 44 C.F.R. pt. 61, app. A(1), art. VII(O) (2022).
Accordingly, the motion to dismiss was GRANTED, and the action was DISMISSED.
ZALMA OPINION
The National Flood Insurance Program is not treated like insurance issued by private insurers. It is a creature of statute that can only be resolved in a federal court and whose conditions must be interpreted with a requirement for strict compliance with the terms of the flood insurance contract. The suit was filed a few days later than one year from the partial denial and that was sufficient to dismiss the suit.
(c) 2026 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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