The government shutdown that went into effect Oct. 1 caused the National Flood Insurance Program to lapse, threatening thousands of pending home sales, particularly in flood-prone states like Florida.

As a result of the lapse, FEMA can no longer write new or renew existing policies under NFIP, leaving lenders to decide whether to make loans in Florida’s many flood zones to homeowners without access to NFIP insurance.

Existing NFIP policies will remain in effect until they expire, and claims will continue to be paid as long as FEMA has sufficient funding.

According to the Monroe County department of legislative affairs, Florida has the most NFIP policyholders of any state. Nearly 1.7 million NFIP policies totaling $440 billion in coverage are held in Florida.

“Each day a shutdown continues, the effects on the housing sector grow,” said Shannon McGahn, executive vice president and chief advocacy officer at the National Association of REALTORS®, in a press release.

With no sign of resolution in congress, the Florida Association of REALTORS® is urging agents to carefully consider private policies for their clients. “Please remind your clients to read the fine print of any insurance policy,” the organization said on its website.