Flood Fatalities in the United States: The Roles of Socioeconomic Factors and the National Flood Insurance Program

2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 1032-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jungmin Lim ◽  
Mark Skidmore
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Socioeconomic Factors ◽  
The United States ◽  
Flood Insurance ◽  
National Flood Insurance Program ◽  
Insurance Program

scholarly journals Addressing Affordability in the National Flood Insurance Program

2014 ◽  
Vol 01 (01) ◽  
pp. 1450001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Kousky ◽  
Howard Kunreuther
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hurricane Sandy ◽  
Flood Insurance ◽  
National Flood Insurance Program ◽  
Voucher Program ◽  
Insurance Program ◽  
Loan Program ◽  
Flood Prone Areas

There is often tension between setting insurance premiums that reflect risk and dealing with equity/affordability issues. The National Flood Insurance Program in the United States recently moved toward elimination of certain premium discounts, but this raised issues with respect to the affordability of coverage for homeowners in flood-prone areas. Ultimately, Congress reversed course and reinstated discounted rates for certain classes of policyholders. We examine the tension between risk-based rates and affordability through a case study of Ocean County, New Jersey, an area heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy. We argue that the NFIP must address affordability, but that this should not be done through discounted premiums. Instead, we propose a means-tested voucher program coupled with a loan program for investments in hazard mitigation.

scholarly journals Catastrophe Economics: The National Flood Insurance Program

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 165-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwann O Michel-Kerjan
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Private Insurance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Flood Insurance ◽  
National Flood Insurance Program ◽  
Disaster Insurance ◽  
Insurance Program ◽  
Hurricane Season ◽  
Administrative Expenses ◽  
Financial Balance

Hurricane Betsy, which hit Louisiana September 9, 1965, was one of the most intense, deadly, and costly storms ever to make landfall in the United States: it killed 76 people in Louisiana and caused $1.5 billion in damage—equal to nearly $10 billion in 2010 dollars. In 1965, no flood insurance was available, so victims had to rely on friends and family, charities, or federal relief. After that catastrophe, the U.S. government established a new program in 1968—the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)—to make flood insurance widely available. Now, after more than 40 years of operation, the NFIP is today one of the longest standing government-run disaster insurance programs in the world. In this paper, I present an overview of the 40 years of operation of the National Flood Insurance Program, starting with how and why it was created and how it has evolved to now cover $1.23 trillion in assets. I analyze the financial balance of the NFIP between 1969 and 2008. Excluding the 2005 hurricane season (which included Hurricane Katrina) as an outlier, policyholders have paid nearly $11 billion more in premiums than they have received in claim reimbursements over that period. However, the program has spent an average of 40 percent of all collected premiums on administrative expenses, more than three quarters of which were paid to private insurance intermediaries who sell and manage flood insurance policies on behalf of the federal government but do not bear any risk. I present challenges the NFIP faces today and propose ways those challenges might be overcome through innovative modifications.

scholarly journals Atmospheric rivers drive flood damages in the western United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. eaax4631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Corringham ◽  
F. Martin Ralph ◽  
Alexander Gershunov ◽  
Daniel R. Cayan ◽  
Cary A. Talbot
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
The United States ◽  
Flood Damage ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Flood Insurance ◽  
The West ◽  
Atmospheric Rivers ◽  
Insurance Program ◽  
Flood Damages

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are extratropical storms that produce extreme precipitation on the west coasts of the world’s major landmasses. In the United States, ARs cause significant flooding, yet their economic impacts have not been quantified. Here, using 40 years of data from the National Flood Insurance Program, we show that ARs are the primary drivers of flood damages in the western United States. Using a recently developed AR scale, which varies from category 1 to 5, we find that flood damages increase exponentially with AR intensity and duration: Each increase in category corresponds to a roughly 10-fold increase in damages. Category 4 and 5 ARs cause median damages in the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars, respectively. Rising population, increased development, and climate change are expected to worsen the risk of AR-driven flood damage in future decades.

scholarly journals HURRICANE TIDE FREQUENCIES ON THE ATLANTIC COAST

1976 ◽  
Vol 1 (15) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis P. Ho
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
New England ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Flood Insurance ◽  
Storm Tide ◽  
Insurance Program ◽  
Evacuation Plans ◽  
Warning Services

Hurricane surge Is a serious and not uncommon event along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the United States. The most disastrous display of hurricane forces in recent decades was by Camille, which struck the Mississippi coast in 1969. The storm tide reached 24.6 ft MSL„ Reported storm tides on the Atlantic coast have reached elevations of 15 to 20 ft in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and New England. One of the latest coordinated efforts to alleviate losses from hurricanes — supplementing warning services, community preparedness, and evacuation plans— is the Flood Insurance Program.

scholarly journals Dissecting Disease, Race, Ethnicity, And Socioeconomic Factors For Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An Analysis From The United States Safety Net Collaborative

HPB ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. S22-S23
Author(s):  
R.M. Lee ◽  
A.C. Gamboa ◽  
M.K. Turgeon ◽  
A. Yopp ◽  
E.L. Ryon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Socioeconomic Factors ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
The United States ◽  
Race Ethnicity

Examining Flood Insurance Claims in the United States: Six Key Findings

2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 819-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Kousky ◽  
Erwann Michel-Kerjan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Flood Insurance ◽  
Insurance Claims
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