Coastal Management Fall 2017
2017 Coastal Opinions
National Flood Insurance Program
___
By Andrew Norman-Roberts, Steven Sherk, and Lee Vella

The logo for the National Flood Insurance Program run by FEMA

INTRODUCTION

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) of the United States is run by Federal Emergency Management Agency and is the only program that homeowners and business owners can use for aid to rebuild their properties. FEMA need a separate policy for flooding is that most property insurance programs only cover the initial cause of destruction. If there was a hurricane in the area, the insurance would cover the wind damage, but not the secondary damage caused by the storm surge and the water that rushes in with the rising tides (FEMA 2002).
This program was originally self-funded, by grants and tax money and needed no loans from the central government. The recent storm years though have left the NFIP grasping for loans from the US treasury. Investigations by CNN show the program is losing funding and been doing so “over the last 12 years” with record storm destruction(2017 Aug 30). Our fall 2017 surveys explored who in the surveyed counties though that NFIP was in a budget crisis and who the survey subjects thought had the burden to pay for the restoration or repairs needed after a natural disaster.

Overview of Current Situation

The NFIP serves two purposes: to offer flood insurance for properties with significant flood risk and to promote floodplain management. The NFIP is over $25 billion in debt as a result from borrowing from the U.S. Treasury to cover damage claims. A poll conducted by the research firm Public Opinion Strategies for the Pew Charitable Trusts, surveyed the attitudes toward flood related disasters and proposed policy reforms aimed at improving preparedness and reducing recovery costs. Respondents predominantly supported proposals to require that property sellers disclose flood risk and that communities take actions to lessen flood impacts and thus reduce the costs of flooding.
Key Poll Findings
81% support a single national standard to disclose property flood risk
64 % support local action to reduce flood risk in communities with repeatedly flooded properties
82% support a requirement that all federally funded infrastructure in flood prone areas be built to better protect against the impacts of flooding.
75 % support prioritizing FEMA buyouts of repeatedly flooded homes in environmentally sensitive areas.

Relevant Survey Questions:

46. If you had to guess, would you say this program probably has a:
___Surplus ___Deficit ___unsure / I don’t know
47. Whose taxes should primarily support/underwrite the National Flood Insurance Program? ___ everyone in U.S. ___ coastal states ___ flood-prone areas ___ nobody ___ I don’t know

RESULTS

The general public feels that….
The NFIP in our federal government backstop insurance program is running a deficit.
The general public feels that the NFIP is running a deficit with 52% of the surveyed subjects saying that the United States is in a deficit, 12% thinking the United States is in a surplus and 39% of the surveyed people not being sure if the United States is in deficit or surplus or unsure of the question. When we compared income of 120,000 or more we saw a insignificant change in the data.

 

Whose taxes should primarily support/underwrite the National Flood Insurance Program?
The general public feels that the NFIP should be funded by the flood-prone areas. 41% of the surveyed subjects said that flood-prone areas should be the ones to pay, with 32% of the surveyed subjects saying that everyone should pay to fund the NFIP. There is no significant difference when compared to people who have an income greater than 120,000 or more annual income. We analyzed whether or not people with a higher income felt like only coastal zones should pay or flood prone areas, but there was found to be no correlation.

INTERPRETATION

There is a significant difference in the knowledge of the NFIP current debt in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and LA counties compared to different regions of the country.  The majority of the respondents in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and LA counties knew that the NFIP was in debt, while the rest of the country was predominantly unsure whether the NFIP is in debt.  However, the majority of the country understands the risks involved with flood prone areas, thus most of the respondents want increased reform, infrastructure, and preparedness.    

Key Takeaway

People believe that flood prone areas should pay the taxes used to support the NFIP instead of everyone, with a small margin of favoring flood prone to everyone paying the tax.

REFERENCES

Agency, F. E. M., and F. I. a. M. Administration. 2002. National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA.

Anderson, Sean. 2012. Public perceptions of coastal resources in southern California. Urban Coast 3(1): 36-47.

Lightbody, Laura. 2017. Poll: Nearly 75% of Voters Back Flood Reforms. The Pew Charitable Trusts. http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/compass-points/2017/04/05/poll-nearly-75-percent-of-voters-back-flood-reforms

2017 Aug 30. Flood insurance: Harvey tests a broken system. CNNMoney. [accessed 2017 Nov 8]. http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/30/news/economy/flood-insurance-harvey/index.html