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

When Congress authorized the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1968, it intended for the program to encourage community initiatives in flood risk management, charge insurance premiums consistent with actuarial pricing principles, and encourage the purchase of flood insurance by owners of flood prone properties, in part, by offering affordable premiums. The NFIP has been reauthorized many times since 1968, most recently with the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (BW 2012). In this most recent reauthorization, Congress placed a particular emphasis on setting flood insurance premiums following actuarial pricing principles, which was motivated by a desire to ensure future revenues were adequate to pay claims and administrative expenses. BW 2012 was designed to move the NFIP towards risk-based premiums for all flood insurance policies. The result was to be increased premiums for some policyholders that had been paying less than NFIP risk-based premiums and to possibly increase premiums for all policyholders. Recognition of this possibility and concern for the affordability of flood insurance is reflected in sections of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HFIAA 2014). These sections called on FEMA to propose a draft affordability framework for the NFIP after completing an analysis of the efforts of possible programs for offering "means-tested assistance" to policyholders for whom higher rates may not be affordable. BW 2012 and HFIAA 2014 mandated that FEMA conduct a study, in cooperation with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which would compare the costs of a program of risk-based rates and means-tested assistance to the current system of subsidized flood insurance rates and federally funded disaster relief for people without coverage. Production of two reports was agreed upon to fulfill this mandate. This second report proposes alternative approaches for a national evaluation of affordability program policy options and includes lessons for the design of a national study from a proof-of-concept pilot study.

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.

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.