National Academies Press: OpenBook

A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option (2015)

Chapter: Front Matter

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21758.
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A Community-Based
Flood Insurance Option

Committee on Community-Based Flood Insurance Options

Water Science and Technology Board
Division on Earth and Life Studies

Board on Mathematical Sciences and Their Applications
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, DC

www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21758.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS   500 Fifth Street, NW   Washington, DC 20001

This activity was supported by Contract No. HHSP233201400020B with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (via U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-37468-2
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-37468-5

Cover credit: Cover images courtesy of FEMA and FEMA/Bruce Kinney.

Additional copies of this report are available for sale from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu/.

Copyright 2015 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21758.
×

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The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president.

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The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.

Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.national-academies.org.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21758.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21758.
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COMMITTEE ON COMMUNITY-BASED
FLOOD INSURANCE OPTIONS

HENRY J. VAUX, JR., Chair, University of California, Berkeley and Riverside

PATRICIA BORN, Florida State University, Tallahassee

JEFFREY CZAJKOWSKI, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

LLOYD DIXON, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California

ROBERT HIRSCH, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia

ROGER KASPERSON, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts

ROBERT KLEIN, Georgia State University, Atlanta

SANDRA KNIGHT, University of Maryland, College Park

DAVID I. MAURSTAD, OST, Inc., Washington, DC

SALLY McCONKEY, Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, Illinois

TOMMY WRIGHT, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC

RICHARD ZECKHAUSER, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Staff

ED J. DUNNE, Study Director, Water Science and Technology Board

SCOTT T. WEIDMAN, Director, Board on Mathematical Sciences and Their Applications

BRENDAN McGOVERN, Senior Program Assistant, Water Science and Technology Board

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21758.
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WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD

GEORGE M. HORNBERGER, Chair, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

EDWARD J. BOUWER, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

DAVID A. DZOMBAK, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

M. SIOBHAN FENNESSY, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio

BEN GRUMBLES, Maryland Department of the Environment, Baltimore

GEORGE R. HALLBERG, The Cadmus Group, Watertown, Massachusetts

ARTURO A. KELLER, University of California, Santa Barbara

CATHERINE L. KLING, Iowa State University, Ames

LARRY LARSON, Association of State Floodplain Managers, Madison, Wisconsin

DINAH LOUDA, Veolia Institute, Paris, France

DAVID I. MAURSTAD, OST, Inc., Washington, DC

STEPHEN POLASKY, University of Minnesota, St. Paul

MARYLYNN V. YATES, University of California, Riverside

JAMES W. ZIGLAR, SR., Van Ness Feldman, Washington, DC

Staff

JEFFREY JACOBS, Director

LAURA J. EHLERS, Senior Program Officer

STEPHANIE E. JOHNSON, Senior Program Officer

ED J. DUNNE, Program Officer

M. JEANNE AQUILINO, Financial and Administrative Associate

MICHAEL J. STOEVER, Research Associate

ANITA A. HALL, Senior Program Associate

BRENDAN R. McGOVERN, Senior Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21758.
×

BOARD ON MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

DONALD G. SAARI, Chair, University of California, Irvine

DOUGLAS N. ARNOLD, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

JOHN B. BELL, E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California

VICKI M. BIER, University of Wisconsin, Madison

JOHN R. BIRGE, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

L. ANTHONY COX, JR, Cox Associates, Denver, Colorado

MARK L. GREEN, University of California, Los Angeles

JOSEPH A. LANGSAM, University of Maryland, College Park

BRYNA KRA, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

ANDREW W. LO, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

DAVID MAIER, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon

WILLIAM A. MASSEY, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

JUAN C. MEZA, University of California, Merced

CLAUDIA NEUHAUSER, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

FRED S. ROBERTS, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey

GUILLERMO SAPIRO, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

CARL P. SIMON, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

KATEPALLI SREENIVASAN, New York University, New York, New York

ELIZABETH A. THOMPSON, University of Washington, Seattle

Staff

SCOTT T. WEIDMAN, Director

NEAL D. GLASSMAN, Senior Program Officer

MICHELLE K. SCHWALBE, Program Officer

RODNEY HOWARD, Administrative Assistant

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21758.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21758.
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Acknowledgments

The committee appreciates the assistance of the many individuals who provided presentations and additional information to the committee. The committee would like to particularly thank Leonard A. Shabman and Carolyn Kousky, of Resources for the Future, who provided extensive input to the committee.

This report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their breadth of perspectives and technical expertise in accordance with the procedures approved by the National Academies’ Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review was to provide candid and critical comments to assist the institution in ensuring that its published report is scientifically credible and that it meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The reviewer comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the deliberative process. We thank the following reviewers for their helpful suggestions, all of which were considered and many of which were wholly or partly incorporated in the final report: Chad Berginnis, The Association of State Floodplain Managers, Madison, WI; Philip Berke, Texas A&M University, College Station; Gerald Galloway (NAE), University of Maryland, College Park; Ed Pasterick, FEMA, retired, Bowie, MD; Bruce Patton, California Earthquake Authority, Sacramento, CA; Mark V. Pauly (IOM), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; and Shannon S. Van Zandt, Texas A&M University, College Station.

Although these reviewers provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions and recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21758.
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The review of this report was overseen by Lawrence D. Brown, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and John Boland, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. Appointed by the National Research Council (NRC), they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments received full consideration. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the NRC.
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21758.
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Next: Summary »
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River and coastal floods are among the nation's most costly natural disasters. One component in the nation's approach to managing flood risk is availability of flood insurance policies, which are offered on an individual basis primarily through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Established in 1968, the NFIP is overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and there are about 5.4 million individual policies in the NFIP. The program has experienced a mixture of successes and persistent challenges. Successes include a large number of policy holders, the insurance of approximately $1.3 trillion of property, and the fact that the large majority of policy holders - 80% - pay rates that are risk based. NFIP challenges include large program debt, relatively low rates of purchase in many flood-prone areas, a host of issues regarding affordability of premiums, ensuring that premiums collected cover payouts and administrative fees, and a large number of properties that experience severe repetitive flood losses.

At the request of FEMA, A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option identifies a range of key issues and questions that would merit consideration and further analysis as part of a community-based flood insurance program. As the report describes, the community-based option certainly offers potential benefits, such as the prospect of providing coverage for all (or nearly all) at-risk residents and properties in flood-prone communities. At the same time, many current challenges facing the NFIP may not necessarily be resolved by a community-based approach. This report discusses these and other prominent issues to be considered and further assessed.

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