Financing Flood Losses: A Discussion of the National Flood Insurance Program

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), housed in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has been providing flood insurance to households and businesses for almost 50 years. To inform the policy discussion leading up to reauthorization, this paper analyzes five aspects of the NFIP: (1) risk modeling and risk communication; (2) the roles of the public and private sector; (3) take-up rates; (4) incentives for risk reduction; and (5) rate setting and the financing of catastrophic flood events. Suggestions for reform are discussed.