Federal Flood Insurance: The Repetitive Loss Problem
Abstract
Flooding in the United States is a recurring event, and the severity of flooding varies from year to year and from location to location. Historically, floods have caused more economic loss to the nation than any other natural hazard. Almost 90% of all declared disasters include a flooding component. Flood-related property losses have risen to $6 billion a year, from approximately 3.3 billion in the mid-1980s. Combating the devastating effects of flooding has become a national priority involving flood hazard identification, the purchase of federally-subsidized flood insurance by homeowners, renters, and business owners, and state and local land-use controls designed to minimize flood loss and guide development away from flood-prone areas. In 1968, through enactment of the National Flood Insurance Act, Congress established a comprehensive risk management program to: (1) reduce suffering and economic losses due to floods through the purchase of flood insurance; (2) promote state and local land-use controls to guide development away from flood-prone areas; and (3) reduce federal expenditures for disaster assistance and flood control. This report provides an overview of the National Flood Insurance Program. Also examined are the problems surrounding the settlement of claims stemming from Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and recently enacted flood insurance reform legislation that addressed the repetitive loss issue.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 30, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA465381
Entities
People
- Rawle O. King
Organizations
- Library of Congress