FEMA: Action Needed to Improve Administration of the National Flood Insurance Program

FEMA: Action Needed to Improve Administration of the National Flood Insurance Program PDF Author: Orice Williams Brown
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437987249
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 86

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Book Description
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been on a high-risk list since March 2006 because of concerns about its long-term financial solvency and related operational issues. Significant management challenges also affect the Federal Emergency Management Agency¿s (FEMA) ability to administer NFIP. This report examines: (1) the extent to which FEMA¿s management practices affect the administration of NFIP; (2) lessons learned from the cancellation of FEMA¿s attempt to modernize NFIP¿s insurance management system; and (3) limitations on FEMA¿s authority that could affect NFIP¿s financial stability. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.

FEMA: Action Needed to Improve Administration of the National Flood Insurance Program

FEMA: Action Needed to Improve Administration of the National Flood Insurance Program PDF Author: Orice Williams Brown
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437987249
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 86

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Book Description
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been on a high-risk list since March 2006 because of concerns about its long-term financial solvency and related operational issues. Significant management challenges also affect the Federal Emergency Management Agency¿s (FEMA) ability to administer NFIP. This report examines: (1) the extent to which FEMA¿s management practices affect the administration of NFIP; (2) lessons learned from the cancellation of FEMA¿s attempt to modernize NFIP¿s insurance management system; and (3) limitations on FEMA¿s authority that could affect NFIP¿s financial stability. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.

Fema

Fema PDF Author: United States Government Accountability Office
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781983547263
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 86

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Book Description
FEMA: Action Needed to Improve Administration of the National Flood Insurance Program

FEMA

FEMA PDF Author: Orice Williams Brown
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Flood insurance
Languages : en
Pages : 81

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Book Description


Overview of GAO's Past Work on the National Flood Insurance Program

Overview of GAO's Past Work on the National Flood Insurance Program PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Financial Services. Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Flood insurance
Languages : en
Pages : 61

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Book Description
Over the past 11 years, GAO has identified a variety of challenges facing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and has made numerous recommendations to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to improve its administration of the program. FEMA has generally agreed with GAO's recommendations and has taken steps to address them. However, FEMA has not fully addressed all of the issues we have reported on and will need to address provisions in both the Biggert-Waters Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (Biggert-Waters Act) and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (2014 Act) that affect many aspects of NFIP, including its finances, rate setting, and participation. Among other things, GAO found the following: 1) Finances. As of December 31, 2013, FEMA owed the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) $24 billion--primarily to pay claims associated with Superstorm Sandy (2012) and Hurricane Katrina (2005)--and had not made a principal payment since 2010. The Biggert-Waters Act requires FEMA to issue a report to Congress by January 2013 on a repayment plan setting forth options to repay FEMA's total debt to Treasury within 10 years. However, as of January 2014, FEMA had not issued such a report. According to FEMA officials, preliminary analysis suggests that under FEMA's planned implementation of the act, the agency will not be able to repay its debt within the 10-year time frame. The officials said the report will contain options for retiring the debt within 10 years, but that most of the options would require congressional action. As required by the act, FEMA is establishing a reserve fund that could help reduce the need for future borrowing from Treasury. However, FEMA is unlikely to initially meet the act's annual targets for building up the reserve, due partly to statutory limitations on annual premium increases. 2) Premium rate setting. FEMA's methodology for determining full-risk premium rates may not fully reflect the actual risk of flood damage as intended. Consistent with recommendations GAO made in 2008, FEMA has initiated actions to improve the accuracy of full-risk rates, including updating data used in the model it uses to set rates. However, these actions are in the preliminary stages. FEMA had begun implementing Biggert-Waters Act provisions to reduce and eventually eliminate most subsidized rates on remaining policies. However, the 2014 Act reinstates some of these subsidies. Phasing out and eventually eliminating subsidies remaining after the 2014 Act poses challenges for FEMA. For example, to appropriately revise rates for policies that were previously subsidized (that is, had discounted insurance premiums), FEMA will need information on the relative risk of flooding and property elevations, which generally had not been required for subsidized policies prior to the Biggert-Waters Act. FEMA is evaluating approaches to obtain this information in response to a recommendation GAO made in a 2013 report. Premium rate increases arising from the act may also pose affordability challenges for some homeowners. The 2014 Act's repeal of certain rate increases in the Biggert-Waters Act will address affordability concerns, but may also reduce program revenues and weaken the financial soundness of the NFIP program. 3) Participation. Overall NFIP penetration rates--the proportion of all properties with flood insurance--are low, according to estimates based on available limited data. In addition, while some homeowners are required to purchase flood insurance for the life of their mortgage loans, information on the extent of compliance with this requirement is limited. As of September 31, 2013, there were more than 5.5 million NFIP policies in force, but several factors have negatively affected program participation. These include inaccurate perceptions about the risk of flooding and the cost of purchasing policies, as well as the inaccurate assumption that flood perils are included in homeowner's insurance policies. FEMA has taken a number of steps to broaden participation in NFIP, including development of a national outreach strategy. In addition, the Biggert-Waters Act includes several provisions to strengthen enforcement of the mandatory purchase requirement and to address some of the factors that limit participation.

Financial Management: Improvements Needed in National Flood Insurance Program’s Financial Controls and Oversight

Financial Management: Improvements Needed in National Flood Insurance Program’s Financial Controls and Oversight PDF Author: Susan Ragland
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437928102
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. 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 Dept. of Homeland Security, 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. The report reviewed and analyzed FEMA/NFIP guidance, data, and financial reports, and interviewed FEMA officials and contractors. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables.

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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Book Description
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.

Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program

Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program PDF Author: Committee on Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program Improving Policies and Practices
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309282918
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA) manages the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is a cornerstone in the U.S. strategy to assist communities to prepare for, mitigate against, and recover from flood disasters. The NFIP was established by Congress with passage of the National Flood Insurance Act in 1968, to help reduce future flood damages through NFIP community floodplain regulation that would control development in flood hazard areas, provide insurance for a premium to property owners, and reduce federal expenditures for disaster assistance. The flood insurance is available only to owners of insurable property located in communities that participate in the NFIP. Currently, the program has 5,555,915 million policies in 21,881 communities3 across the United States. The NFIP defines the one percent annual chance flood (100-year or base flood) floodplain as a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). The SFHA is delineated on FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM's) using topographic, meteorologic, hydrologic, and hydraulic information. Property owners with a federally back mortgage within the SFHAs are required to purchase and retain flood insurance, called the mandatory flood insurance purchase requirement (MPR). Levees and floodwalls, hereafter referred to as levees, have been part of flood management in the United States since the late 1700's because they are relatively easy to build and a reasonable infrastructure investment. A levee is a man-made structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control, or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection from temporary flooding. A levee system is a flood protection system which consists of a levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering practices. Recognizing the need for improving the NFIP's treatment of levees, FEMA officials approached the National Research Council's (NRC) Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB) and requested this study. The NRC responded by forming the ad hoc Committee on Levee and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices, charged to examine current FEMA treatment of levees within the NFIP and provide advice on how those levee-elated policies and activities could be improved. The study addressed four broad areas, risk analysis, flood insurance, risk reduction, and risk communication, regarding how levees are considered in the NFIP. Specific issues within these areas include current risk analysis and mapping procedures behind accredited and non-accredited levees, flood insurance pricing and the mandatory flood insurance purchase requirement, mitigation options to reduce risk for communities with levees, flood risk communication efforts, and the concept of shared responsibility. The principal conclusions and recommendations are highlighted in this report.

National Flood Insurance Program: Continued Actions Needed to Address Financial and Operational Issues

National Flood Insurance Program: Continued Actions Needed to Address Financial and Operational Issues PDF Author: Orice Williams Brown
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437932622
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 26

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Book Description
The Nat. Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), established in 1968, provides policyholders with insurance coverage for flood damage. FEMA is responsible for managing NFIP. Unprecedented losses from the 2005 hurricane season and NFIP¿s periodic need to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to pay flood insurance claims have raised concerns about the program¿s long-term financial solvency. Because of these concerns and NFIP¿s operational issues, NFIP has been on a high-risk list since March 2006. As of April 2010, NFIP¿s debt to Treasury stood at $18.8 billion. This testimony discusses: (1) NFIP¿s financial challenges; (2) FEMA¿s operational and management challenges; and (3) actions needed to address these challenges. Includes recommendations.

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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Book Description


Flood Insurance

Flood Insurance PDF Author: Orice Williams Brown
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437988024
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 21

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Book Description
The Nat. Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been on the high-risk list since 2006, when the program had to borrow form the U.S. Treasury to cover losses from the 2005 hurricanes. The outstanding debt is $17.8 billion as of June 2011. This sizeable debt, plus operational and mgmt. challenges at FEMA, which administers NFIP, have combined to keep the program on the high-risk list. NFIP¿s need to borrow to cover claims in years of catastrophic flooding has raised concerns about the program¿s long-term financial solvency. This testimony: (1) discusses ways to place NFIP on a sounder financial footing; and (2) highlights operational and mgmt. challenges at FEMA that affect the program. This is a print on demand report.