This proposed rule would establish the maximum time period within which an FHA-approved mortgagee must file a claim with FHA for insurance benefits. HUD's current regulations are silent with respect to a deadline by which a claim for insurance benefits must be filed with FHA. Due to the downturn in the housing market, which resulted in a significant increase in mortgage defaults, some mortgagees have refrained from promptly filing claims for insurance benefits and instead have opted to wait and file multiple claims with FHA at a single point in time. The uncertainty regarding a deadline by which a claim must be filed, and the number of claims currently being filed at a single point in time strain FHA resources and negatively impact FHA's ability to project the future state of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMIF), and, consequently, the ability of FHA to fulfill its statutory obligation to safeguard the MMIF. To address this concern, HUD proposes to establish a deadline by which a mortgagee must file a claim for insurance benefits. This rule also proposes to disallow expenses incurred by a mortgagee prior to the filing of a claim for insurance benefits where such expenses result from a mortgagee's failure to timely initiate foreclosure or timely take such other action that is a prerequisite to submission of a claim for insurance.