At the same time that parts of New England are threatening to float away from record-breaking floods, Congress allowed the National Flood Insurance Program to expire for the second time this year. As legislators won’t be reconvening until April 12th, the program looks likely to sit in limbo for a couple of weeks (at least). […]
Tag Archives | Insurance
National Flood Insurance Program Expires [UPDATED]
Posted on March 11, 2010
[ORIGINAL MARCH 1 POST]: Nothing to panic about (we don’t think), but the US Senate failed to pass a reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). As a result, the NFIP officially expired last night. FEMA, meanwhile, released an announcement last Friday expressing its confidence that the program will be reauthorized when the Senate […]
Top 10 Reasons to Buy Flood Insurance NOW
Posted on February 25, 2010
While this list was written by FEMA for the general public, most of it applies to your municipal properties, too (and it’s not a bad outreach tool, either). The Top Ten Reasons to Buy Flood Insurance Now Spring flooding is almost here and there is a 30-day waiting period before coverage begins. Coverage is relatively […]
State Farm to Drop 125,000 Policies in Florida
Posted on February 4, 2010
Approximately 125,000 of State Farm’s “most vulnerable customers” in Florida should brace themselves to receive some potentially bad news: their policies with State Farm Insurance are being cancelled. MSNBC and others are reporting that State Farm Florida will be canceling policies for nearly a fifth of its clients, most of them in coastal areas. It […]
Alabama Legislature Debates New Coastal Insurance Reform
Posted on January 28, 2010
AL.com has a summary of a few coastal insurance reform bills currently making their way through the Alabama state legislature. Two of them that would allow entities called “surplus insurers” to begin writing policies in the state passed their respective legislative committees Wednesday. These bills are designed to increase competition in the state’s insurance market. […]
Hurricane Damage Prediction Tough, Even for Insurance Companies
Posted on January 21, 2010
A report released yesterday finds that short-term hurricane damage models, designed to project insured losses in the United States from Atlantic hurricanes for the past five-years, have significantly overestimated losses for the cumulative 2006 through 2009 seasons. From the press release: “This latest study further supports our previous findings that a short time horizon is […]
FEMA Wants to Know What You REALLY Think About the NFIP
Posted on November 18, 2009
Since Congress created it in 1968, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has helped provide affordable flood insurance to millions of people. The program was designed as both a carrot and as a stick: while it allows many to purchase relatively inexpensive flood insurance, it requires communities to adopt and enforce a floodplain management ordinance […]
Summary of Changes to NFIP
Posted on October 15, 2009
For those of you involved in flood insurance, here’s a summary from FEMA of the latest changes to the NFIP: On October 1, 2009, important changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will take effect. There will be an increase in rates, the standard deductibles, and the basic insurance limits. These combined changes will […]
North Carolina Amends Innovative Beach Plan
Posted on September 3, 2009
The latest newsletter from the Institute for Business and Home Safety reports on some of the more forward-thinking innovations in the recently passed amendments North Carolina Beach Plan, including some interesting building code and insurance revisions: Legislation that amends North Carolina’s state-funded coastal insurance plan, known as the Beach Plan, was recently signed by Gov. […]
New TV Program on Coastal Watersheds Now Online [UPDATED]
Posted on August 25, 2009
All programs in the series “Gambling Against Mother Nature” are now available online. Hurricanes, Storms and Impacts on Coast“Wind and Water” (aired last month, available online here) Coastal Watersheds “Water Runs Down Hill” (available online now) Storms and Insurance”Hedging Our Bets” (available online now) The full series will be available on DVD after the last […]