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DHS FEMA NFIP Services - eWaterwark Article
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Highlights of the 2007 National Flood Conference
More than 820 NFIP stakeholders traveled to Denver, Colorado, this year for the 24th annual National
Flood Conference (NFC), held April 30 - May 2. Though most participants were NFC old-timers, 175
conferees were attending the NFC for the first time.
At the Opening General Session, five concurrent Town Hall meetings, and Closing General Session,
attendees had the opportunity to learn about recent program changes and the hottest NFIP issues.
In nearly 50 workshops held during the conference's 3 days, participants discussed in greater detail
the challenges facing the program and asked questions specific to their constituencies. Workshops
addressed issues from claims reporting and flood reform to the effect of flood map modernization on
insurance agents, lenders, and public officials; severe repetitive losses; risk identification;
condominium coverage; and agent errors and omissions issues.
Conferees were encouraged to take advantage of numerous wrap-around events (the golf tournament sponsored
by Simsol Software and Valco USA, the opening reception hosted by Pilot Catastrophe Services, Inc., the
Monday breakfast sponsored by Colonial Claims Corporation, and the final luncheon sponsored by EDS
Corporation) to meet socially and network with other program stakeholders whose perspectives they might
not ordinarily hear.
On Monday and Tuesday, 31 exhibitors offered information about their flood-related products and
services. An awards ceremony held at the end of the Opening General Session provided FEMA with the
opportunity to recognize nearly 10 of the NFIP's partners for their accomplishments. Among the
after-conference activities on Thursday, two field trips took visitors to the sites of several past
flood events. And, for the first time at the NFC, the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM)
gave its examination for those seeking to become Certified Floodplain Managers.
Day 1: The NFIP Up Close
Master of Ceremonies Mike Moye and Doug Gore, Deputy Director of FEMA Region VIII, welcomed conference
attendees to the Opening General Session on Monday morning. Drawing on several decades of work with
NFIP issues, Gore established a framework for the rest of the conference by pointing out that the NFIP
is like a stool supported by the three legs of engineering, floodplain management, and
insurance/lending.
Updates were provided for these three components of the NFIP when Ed Connor, Deputy Director of
Insurance for FEMA's Mitigation Division, next spoke, describing NFIP accomplishments made since the
last NFC. In particular, a recent achievement that is expected to increase the NFIP's effectiveness
in many areas of operation is the publication of recommendations from three NFIP evaluation studies
that were begun in 2000. These recommendations are now being prioritized by the Mitigation Division,
and steps are being taken to implement many of them.
According to Connor, progress already is being made in a number of other interrelated risk-awareness
initiatives that have been under way for some time. One of these initiatives, the FloodSmart media
campaign, has seen NFIP policy growth exceed 20 percent, with nearly 36 consecutive months of policy
growth.
FEMA's Map Modernization initiative is another project that is improving risk awareness in the
floodplain. Connor highlighted the effective use of public education and community support campaigns
in facilitating the adoption of updated maps. He also praised the development of Digital Flood
Insurance Rate Maps (D-FIRMs), which have increased the accuracy of risk assessment in floodplains.
Implementation of minimum NFIP training and education requirements for insurance agents is another
initiative that has experienced successes in the last year. Connor announced that agent training has
received a boost from numerous NFIP partners such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners
and the National Conference of Insurance Legislators, adding that 36 states have issued bulletins
making flood insurance training mandatory for all agents who sell NFIP policies.
Connor concluded his remarks by noting the continued success of the Community Rating System in
supporting local actions that exceed the NFIP's minimum floodplain management requirements and by
describing some of the accomplishments of these communities, such as Fort Collins, Colorado.
Next on the program, Ed Pasterick, Senior Policy Advisor with FEMA's Mitigation Division, hosted a
panel discussion called "What Do I Have to Do Next?" Using the scenario of a developer seeking to
initiate construction in a floodplain, panelists representing three stakeholder groups (public
officials, lenders, and insurance agents) described how NFIP mitigation and flood insurance coverage
requirements are implemented at each step of the process.
The panelists agreed that two of the most difficult challenges faced by all NFIP stakeholders are
improving education of the general public about flood risk and ensuring that NFIP stakeholders
understand the program's policies and procedures.
Day 2: Town Halls Address Hottest Issues
Hundreds of conference participants packed into the NFC's Tuesday morning Town Halls, filling
several of the meeting rooms and spilling into the lobby. Following are brief summaries of the
topics discussed in each meeting.
Claims
After a short presentation about claim denial letters, lively discussion ensued in this Town Hall
about the average time to process claims appeals; buildings in the course of construction; foundation
damage; alternative claims handling procedures; policy language and "managing policyholder
expectations up front," rather than when the claim is filed; and NFIP legislation pending in
Congress (H.R. 1682).
Underwriting
Discussion in this Town Hall focused on the Group Flood Insurance Program; May and October 2007
NFIP changes; WYO Underwriting Bulletin 5; the Repetitive Loss Target Group and Severe Repetitive
Loss Program; unique rating situations; inclusion of the current flood zone on grandfathered
policies; the difference between the market value of property and actual reconstruction costs;
and expanding coverage options for PRPs, such as insuring commercial buildings and contents.
Floodplain Management and Mapping
Discussion in this Town Hall centered around a number of mapping issues including Letters of Map
Change and e-LOMAs; difficulties when printing FIRMettes; D-FIRMs; historic maps; procedures for
correcting map errors; the ASFPM's No Adverse Impact toolkit; Advisory Base Flood Elevations; and
levees and dams.
Lender Issues
Topics addressed in this Town Hall included buildings in the course of construction; the
forthcoming revised edition of the Mandatory Purchase of Flood Insurance Guidelines handbook;
determining "insurable value"; lender-placed flood insurance (in particular, the NFIP Mortgage
Portfolio Protection Program versus the private sector); resolving flood zone determination
discrepancies between lenders and WYOs; nonparticipating communities and availability of
private-sector flood insurance; and secondary loans and compliance with the mandatory purchase
requirement.
Marketing
Retention of flood insurance policies was the central theme of this Town Hall. Panelists discussed
theories of non-renewal and retention tips. Presentations addressed the factors affecting retention
and provided statistics showing NFIP retention demographics. Several retention case studies
(AAA and DirectTV) were presented and relationships drawn to flood insurance. Additional retention
strategies discussed included educating agents and consumers; targeting areas with low market
penetration; gearing marketing efforts to Group Flood Insurance Program policyholders; tracking
disaster assistance and retention; bundling premium discounts; simplifying the flood insurance
policy; and creating automatic payment options.
Day 3: View from the Top - Mitigation Division and Levees
David Maurstad, Federal Insurance Administrator of the National Flood Insurance Program, was the
featured speaker at the Midday General Session luncheon on Wednesday.
He described the assessments and reorganization of FEMA undertaken as a result of Hurricane Katrina
to improve the delivery of response and recovery services in the aftermath of a disaster. He
reported that FEMA's Mitigation Division, responsible for the NFIP, has been reorganized into
three core business lines: risk analysis, risk reduction, and risk insurance. In addition to the
Mitigation Division initiatives discussed by Ed Connor in the NFC's Opening Session, Maurstad
spoke about recent developments in support of state and local mitigation planning, mitigation
grant programs, NextGen technology, and legislative reform.
Before responding to questions from the audience, Maurstad recognized the NFIP's partnerships with
the insurance and lender industries as well as state and local governments that have made it
possible for thousands of flood victims to rebuild their lives since the devastating 2004 and
2005 hurricane seasons.
At the NFC's Closing General Session on Wednesday afternoon, the featured speaker was Peter
Rabbon, Program Director of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) National Flood Risk Management
Initiative.
According to Rabbon, there are an estimated 30,000 miles of levees in the nation and more than half
of them protect buildings that are in NFIP communities. The USACE has built many of those levees and
then transferred them to other agencies for operation and maintenance.
Rabbon explained the partnership between the USACE and FEMA to support provisionally accrediting
levees until documentation can be submitted certifying the levees' safety. He also described several
other levee safety initiatives that are more controversial. New warnings printed on FIRMs that
state "This area protected from the one percent annual chance (100-year) flood by levee, dike, or
other structures subject to possible failure or overtopping during larger flood" have resulted in
what Rabbon called "push back" from some communities and developers.
Another USACE project that is expected to be unpopular with the public from the standpoints of
recreation and aesthetics is the enforcement of vegetation guidelines for levees. According to
Rabbon, the growth of trees and other vegetation on levees can make it harder to fight floods
and more difficult to inspect the levees' safety. "If your levee is in a windy area and a tree
is knocked over during a storm, you'll have a big hole that will allow erosion," he explained.
"The ironic part is that the areas with a lot of urban development is where the consequence
of failure would be greatest, and so you want to minimize the risk. And that is also where you
have a group of people wanting those trees on the levees."
Join Us Next Year in Chicago at the End of May!
The 2008 National Flood Conference is scheduled for May 26-29 in Chicago. If you haven't attended
an NFIP flood conference and want to be added to the mailing list of those receiving conference
announcements early in 2008, contact Catherine King of the NFIP Bureau and Statistical Agent by
telephone (301-918-1439) or by e-mail
(cking28@csc.com).
See you next year in the Windy City!
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| Last Modified:
Friday, 21 January 2011 |
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