Federal Emergency Management Agency improvements needed to enhance oversight and management of the National Flood Insurance Program : report to congressional committees.

Federal Emergency Management Agency improvements needed to enhance oversight and management of the National Flood Insurance Program : report to congressional committees. PDF Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428932887
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Emergency Management Agency PDF Author: United States. Government Accountability Office
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Flood insurance
Languages : en
Pages : 47

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Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Emergency Management Agency PDF Author: William O. Jenkins, Jr.
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 9781422304365
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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In the wake of Hurricane Isabel in 2003, this is a report on issues related to the Nat. Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) & its oversight & mgmt. by the Fed. Emergency Mgmt. Agency (FEMA). Private insurance companies sell NFIP policies & adjust claims, while a private program contractor helps FEMA administer the NFIP. This report assesses: (1) the statutory & regulator limitations on coverage for homeowners under the NFIP; (2) FEMA's role in monitoring & overseeing the NFIP; (3) FEMA's response to concerns regarding NFIP payments for Hurricane Isabel claims; & (4) the status of FEMA's implementation of provisions of the Flood Insur. Reform Act of 2004. Impacts from Hurricane Katrina were not part of the report's scope. Tables.

National Flood Insurance Program

National Flood Insurance Program PDF Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 9781422398548
Category : Flood insurance
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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National Flood Insurance Program

National Flood Insurance Program PDF Author: United States. Government Accountability Office
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Flood insurance
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
Extraordinary recent flood events raise serious questions about the solvency of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The NFIP is largely implemented by private insurance companies that sell and service policies and adjust claims under the Write Your Own (WYO) Program. This report, prepared under the authority of the Comptroller General, examines (1) how much FEMA paid the WYO companies in recent years for operating costs and how FEMA determined payment amounts; (2) how FEMA's approach to determining operating costs assures that payments are reasonable estimates of companies' expenses; and (3) how FEMA assures that financial and management controls are in place for the WYO program and operate as intended. To do these assessments, GAO interviewed FEMA and insurance officials, and analyzed statutes, regulations, payment data, methodologies, and audits of WYO companies. FEMA's payments to WYO insurance companies for operating costs ranged from more than a third to almost two-thirds of the total premiums paid by policyholders to the NFIP for fiscal years 2004 through 2006. In fiscal years 2005 and 2006, larger payments to WYO insurance companies were the result of settling an unprecedented number and dollar amount of claims for damages resulting from major hurricanes and flood events including Hurricane Katrina. To determine the amount of these payments, FEMA negotiated payment approaches with insurance industry representatives when it established the current WYO program in 1983 based on industry averages for operating expenses for other lines of insurance (such as homeowners, commercial, and fire), past practice, and discussion. The approach FEMA uses to determine operating costs for WYO insurance companies, rooted in policies negotiated and established about 25 years ago, cannot ensure that payments are based on reasonable estimates of actual expenses because actual expenses incurred by the companies for their services to the NFIP are not considered. Although it has authority to do so, FEMA does not collect data on actual WYO flood insurance expenses that could provide a basis for insuring that the WYO payments are based on a reasonable estimate of actual expenses. FEMA officials said that they have not asked WYO insurance companies to provide expense information due to concerns that the approach would increase FEMA's administrative costs and cause a decline in WYO program participation. However, some data on expenses WYO insurance companies allocate to flood insurance are available. FEMA officials said that they cannot use this information due to reporting inconsistencies. Also, there is some precedent in two similar public-private insurance partnerships for collecting actual expense information. FEMA's decision to rely on long-standing practices does not meet federal internal control standards that agencies be held accountable for, among other things, stewardship of government resources. Biennial financial statement audits--FEMA's primary mechanism to provide assurance that it receives complete and accurate financial management information from the WYO insurance companies--were not performed consistently as required by regulation. FEMA regulations require each participating company to arrange and pay for these audits by independent certified public accounting firms. However, many WYO insurance companies did not comply with the schedule in recent years. For example, for fiscal years 2005 and 2006, 5 of 94 participating companies had biennial financial statement audits performed. FEMA officials said they allowed some companies to delay having the audits done because they were in the process of contracting with new subcontractors to perform their financial reporting responsibilities. Nonetheless, without the required biennial audits, FEMA lacks an appropriate internal control mechanism for effective program oversight.

National Flood Insurance Program

National Flood Insurance Program PDF Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 9781422311684
Category : Flood insurance
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Gao-06-119 Federal Emergency Management Agency

Gao-06-119 Federal Emergency Management Agency PDF Author: United States Government Accountability Office
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781984332875
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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GAO-06-119 Federal Emergency Management Agency: Improvements Needed to Enhance Oversight and Management of the National Flood Insurance Program

Financial Management

Financial Management PDF Author: United States Government Accountability Office
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781976202803
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
Due to the federal government's role as guarantor, floods impose an enormous potential financial burden on the federal government. Consequently, decision makers at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Congress need accurate and timely financial information to assess the effectiveness of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This report assesses whether controls in place during the 2005 to 2007 time frame were effective and whether actions to improve controls are likely to address identified weaknesses. GAO reviewed and analyzed FEMA/NFIP guidance, data, and financial reports, reviewed prior audit reports, interviewed FEMA officials and contractors, and selected a sample of claim losses paid to determine whether claim files contained key documents. GAO makes seven recommendations to improve NFIP financial management controls and oversight. FEMA agreed with two of GAO's recommendations and cited corrective actions under way, stated that two recommendations were unnecessary because sufficient procedures were already

Management and Oversight of the National Flood Insurance Program

Management and Oversight of the National Flood Insurance Program PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Financial Services. Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Affordability of National Flood Insurance Program Premiums

Affordability of National Flood Insurance Program Premiums PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309371287
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is housed within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and offers insurance policies that are marketed and sold through private insurers, but with the risks borne by the U.S. federal government. NFIP's primary goals are to ensure affordable insurance premiums, secure widespread community participation in the program, and earn premium and fee income that covers claims paid and program expenses over time. In July 2012, the U.S. Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act (Biggert-Waters 2012), designed to move toward an insurance program with NFIP risk-based premiums that better reflected expected losses from floods at insured properties. This eliminated policies priced at what the NFIP called "pre-FIRM subsidized" and "grandfathered." As Biggert-Waters 2012 went into effect, constituents from multiple communities expressed concerns about the elimination of lower rate classes, arguing that it created a financial burden on policy holders. In response to these concerns Congress passed The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HFIAA 2014). The 2014 legislation changed the process by which pre-FIRM subsidized premiums for primary residences would be removed and reinstated grandfathering. As part of that legislation, FEMA must report back to Congress with a draft affordability framework. Affordability of National Flood Insurance Program Premiums: Report 1 is the first part of a two-part study to provide input as FEMA prepares their draft affordability framework. This report discusses the underlying definitions and methods for an affordability framework and the affordability concept and applications. Affordability of National Flood Insurance Program Premiums gives an overview of the demand for insurance and the history of the NFIP premium setting. The report then describes alternatives for determining when the premium increases resulting from Biggert-Waters 2012 would make flood insurance unaffordable.