NFIP News

NFIP Pays $364M on Idalia Claims. Florida Bill Requires Flood Disclosure to Buyers

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid out $364 million on flood claims from Hurricane Idalia, the storm that swamped part of Florida in August. That’s a fraction of the $3.2 billion NFIP paid after Hurricane Ian, a much larger …

State Farm, Mississippi Settle Katrina Lawsuit for $12M

Mississippi has quietly settled its lawsuit against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. for allegedly minimizing its Hurricane Katrina payments to policyholders, leaving the state to compensate homeowners. The settlement says the $12 million payment represents “restitution for damage, which …

FEMA Tries to Keep Flood Insurance Program Alive During Shutdown

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is exploring how to continue issuing new flood insurance policies after earlier saying that it would halt the practice during the partial government shutdown, leading to a backlash from lawmakers and realtors. The agency is …

Flood Insurance Rebuilds Homes with Public Money Repeatedly

Floodwaters rose about 15 inches (40 centimeters) into Danielle Rees’ home in September when Hurricane Florence drenched this tidewater city on the Pamlico River and overwhelmed a local creek and marshland. The first floor was a sopping mess of gritty, …

Slower Winds Means Florence May Cost Private Insurers Less

Hurricane Florence is likely to end up costing insurers far less than initially feared. Before making landfall, the storm weakened significantly, largely sparing the bigger inland population centers of the Carolinas. While Florence did wreak havoc with record flooding, private …

Assessing the Potential Impact of Hurricane Florence

Hurricane Florence may be just the first of several major storms to make landfall in the U.S. during hurricane season in 2018, but it’s impact will be significant. As of noon on Saturday, more than 30 inches of rain had …

Hurricane Florence Will Likely Expose Flood Insurance Gaps

The number of Americans with flood insurance is on the rise, yet Hurricane Florence is likely to make it painfully clear that too many homeowners in the Carolinas and other vulnerable regions remain unprotected. An analysis of federal flood insurance …

How Much Hurricane Damage Will it Take for Congress to Pass Flood Insurance Reform

U.S. taxpayers who spent billions of dollars after a trifecta of hurricanes last year are poised to do so again after a fix to the nation’s troubled flood insurance program remains stalled in Congress – and as a dangerous new …

Insurers Dive into Private Flood Coverage

Recent hurricanes have highlighted the flood insurance gap. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria caused a record $135 billion in damages, according to Munich Re estimates. Remarkably, less than half were insured losses. “There were a lot of losses that occurred …

Senate Votes for 4 Month Extension of Flood Insurance Program

The Senate voted Tuesday to extend for four months the program that provides flood insurance for nearly 5 million homeowners and business owners. The bill’s passage by an 86-12 vote averts a scenario in which people living in coastal communities …