federal flood insurance News

FEMA Grows Its Flood Reinsurance Plan with $500 Million Cat Bond

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has secured a reinsurance placement for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that for the first time is directly backed by capital markets investors. FEMA has entered into a three-year reinsurance agreement, effective August …

Flood Insurance Program Will Lapse If Senate Does Not Act

There is not a lot time left to avoid a lapse in the federal government’s flood insurance program. The Senate is expected to follow the House, which voted last week to temporarily reauthorize the program. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Opinion: Is Florida’s Flood Insurance Industry Really Prepared?

The clock is ticking: The National Flood Insurance Program expires on July 31, 2018; so what happens next? It is well documented that the NFIP is broken and has been in disarray for a long time. The NFIP’s primary deficiency …

Why Coastal Living Is Becoming Affordable for Only the Rich

When Hurricane Irma reached Florida’s Big Pine Key in September, it caused the floor of Terry and Sharon Baron’s cream-colored mobile home to collapse. On Marathon Key, twenty miles north, the winds lifted Diane Gaffield’s mobile home off its concrete …

How Insurance Brokers, Risk Managers View the Political Dysfunction in Washington

Congress is headed for a “major showdown” over the flood insurance program, according to an insurance broker lobbyist who notes that the program expires July 31, right in the middle of hurricane season. That also happens to be the very …

Federal Flood Insurance Average Premium to Rise 8%

A typical premium charged by the National Flood Insurance Program is slated to rise about eight percent in the coming year, with the estimated average premium going from $866 to $935. When various surcharges are added, the total average amount …

Federal Flood Insurance Renewed Through July But Reforms Stall

Advocates who have been pushing for renewal of the U.S. federal flood insurance programs in the wake of last year’s devastating hurricanes and floods praised Congress for extending the program through July 31. But advocates remained concerned that Congress has …

Keeping Flood Insurance Above Water: Commentary

With the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) currently set to expire on February 8, and many communities still recovering from this summer’s hurricanes, it’s no surprise that the 21st Century Flood Reform Act has passed the House and moved to …

Disasters Affected 8% of U.S. Population in 2017, FEMA Notes in Review of Historic Year

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supported 59 major disaster declarations and 16 emergency declarations in 2017, a year during which unprecedented disasters affected more than 25 million Americans, almost eight percent of the U.S. population. In its year-end review, …

Special Reuters Report: The High Cost of Building in High Flood Risk Areas

When Hurricane Harvey sent two feet of water rolling into this small community about 35 miles north of Houston, Alfredo Becerra had to flee his modest 1,500-square-foot house. Muddy floodwater submerged the furniture and ruined carpet inside the construction worker’s …