National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) News

After Florence Floods, Uninsured Awaken to Painful Reality

Flood insurance was far from Stephanie Walker’s mind in 2015 when she moved her family into a home in Fayetteville in central North Carolina, nearly 200 miles (320 km) from the coast. The next year, a creek at the end …

Hurricane Florence a Reminder of Flood Insurance Reforms Stalled in Congress

U.S. taxpayers who spent billions of dollars after a trifecta of hurricanes last year are poised to do so again after a fix to the nation’s troubled flood insurance program remains stalled in Congress — and as a dangerous new …

Flood Insurance Program Warns Flagstaff About Post-Fire Flooding

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program is telling people in the Flagstaff area affected by a recent fire that they should protect their homes and families from flash flooding caused by summer rains. The agency says that …

Commentary: How Florida’s Flood Insurance Model Could Work Nationwide

While Congress works on various reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the time is ripe for the private insurance market to step up and play a greater role in providing Americans needed flood coverage. Last month in Salt …

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 …

Senate Agrees with House to Renew Flood Insurance Program for 4 Months

Congress avoided a lapse in the federal flood insurance program when the Senate today voted 86-12 to extend authorization for the program by four months to Nov. 30. The National Flood Insurance Program would have expired at the end of …

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 …

Security First Insurance Co. Enters Florida’s Growing Private Flood Market

A new carrier has entered the Florida flood insurance market with a policy it says will provide better coverage than what is available from the National Flood Insurance Program. Ormond Beach, Fla.-based Security First Insurance Co. has launched an optional …

Flood Model Development Helps Hiscox Re & ILS Enter U.S. Flood Protection Market

Less than 12 percent of U.S. homeowners have a flood insurance policy, despite the fact that flooding is the country’s most common natural disaster, said Katy Sivyer, underwriter for North America and the Caribbean at Hiscox Re & ILS, in …

U.S. Flood Models Still in Infancy, So Underwriters Must Be ‘Cautious Consumers’

The market for privately written inland flood insurance in the United States is growing rapidly, but flood modeling is still in its infancy. As a result, underwriters need to be aware of the differences that exist among commercial flood models, …