WASHINGTON—Congress needs to extend the National Flood Insurance Program during the short session that begins next week, according to property/casualty insurance representatives.

Making sure the program doesn't expire on Sept. 30 tops the industry's to-do list for Congress during its last regular session before the November elections.

Otherwise, the industry's attention is focused on how two new major laws—the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act—will be implemented.

Of course, the outcome of the elections will affect implementation of the laws and the approach a new Congress might take to insurance issues.

But for now, “one of the things they've got to do is reauthorize the NFIP,” said Tom Litjen, vp-federal government relations for the Property Casualty Insurers Assn. of America in Washington. “That's what we'll be pressing for in the month of September.”

If the program lapses, it will create uncertainty in the market, preventing the completion of home purchases “and new policies from being written,” said Jimi Grande, senior vp in the National Assn. of Mutual Insurance Cos.' Washington office.

Mr. Grande said he doesn't believe Congress will do anything with natural catastrophe policy during the short session. But he said there are lawmakers “who are waiting for the next natural disaster so that Congress can overreact and implement one of the bevy of current bad policy ideas on the table.” These ideas include requiring the NFIP to offer wind coverage, he said.

In addition to NFIP reauthorization, “we're going to be focused on implementation issues” concerning the health care reform and financial services laws, said Leigh Ann Pusey, president and CEO of the Washington-based American Insurance Assn. She said the group is keeping an eye on progress being made toward establishing the new Federal Insurance Office in the Treasury Department. She said the insurer group also continues to work with Treasury on implementing other provisions in the new laws.

“Issues 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5” for the Washington-based Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers are implementation of the health care reform law, said Joel Wood, senior vp of the CIAB.

Looking ahead, he said “it's very unclear how far a Republican-controlled House of Representatives could scale back some of the regulatory aspects of the health reform act.” While there is “zero chance of repeal as long as President Obama” is in the White House, Congress could use the power of the purse to influence implementation, Mr. Wood said.

The elections are sure to change the composition of Congress and its approach to some insurance issues, said the Washington observers.

“We know we're going to have a significant election year,” said the AIA's Ms. Pusey, with the potential for considerable turnover. “The question is: What is it going to mean?” Voters are angry, but she wondered about the cause of their anger and added that “it's clear the economy will dominate” and that anyone elected will have to respond to a stagnant economy.

Ms. Pusey said she believes “the general message is we need to let the markets work.”

There “could be significant impact on the insurance agenda coming out of the 2010 elections,” said NAMIC's Mr. Grande.

“There are a lot of incumbents who that are not likely to return,” he said. There is likely to be an influx of new lawmakers “who are more interested in helping businesses get started again and promoting competition” instead of imposing more regulations that would harm growth, Mr. Grande said.

He also predicted that the Capitol Hill debate over insurance reform will undergo a “paradigm shift.” The reaction to the health care reform package and the financial services reform bill should mean the insurance industry “is going to have to take a careful look at whether Washington can be a meaningful source of reform.”

The PCI's Mr. Litjen said it's commonly agreed that Republicans will make gains in both houses. “Given the closer margins everyone expects,” passing bills will be more difficult and more gridlock will occur, he said.

Mr. Litjen noted that some members of Congress who wield considerable influence are in tight races. The group includes the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises—Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa.—and Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D.

Rep. Pomeroy is a former president of the National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners, who Mr. Litjen called “probably the single-most knowledgeable member of Congress” on insurance and insurance regulation. He also noted that the retirement of Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., will mean new leadership on that panel.

If Republicans gain control of the House, new leadership may take a dimmer view of an optional federal charter for producers and insurers, said the CIAB's Mr. Wood, who described himself as a “huge fan” of Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who most likely would become speaker of the House.

“Having been the Charlie Brown to Lucy's football on OFC for many years, I'm not as convinced that it will be a major legislative initiative,” said Mr. Wood. “Regardless of one's persuasion or desires, if John Boehner is the speaker of the House, I rather doubt he would be enthusiastic about an OFC. He has historically associated himself with the views of the Cincinnati Insurance Cos.,” which has opposed federal insurance regulation and a natural catastrophe backstop.