Tag: flood zones

Will California flood insurance be better without federal involvement?

Julie Campbell
Shasta Dam California flood insurance

The state is considering dropping out of the nationwide program in favor of establishing its own. California flood insurance found itself in the spotlight last month when the Oroville Dam threatened to fail. Erosion at the base of the dam’s emergency spillway forced the evacuation of 180,000 people until the area could be deemed safe again. This event greatly increased awareness of the importance of flood insurance within that part of the state. Helicopters were used to place massive boulders to plug the failing emergency spillway. This allowed the state…

Read More

Oklahoma gap insurance to fill the additional need for flood coverage

According to a news release from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, despite the fact that flooding is the most common form of natural disaster in the country, statistics continue to indicate that individuals are ignoring this risk and are failing to purchase the gap insurance required to cover them against this circumstance. There are approximately 1.7 million households in the state of Oklahoma, and fewer than 34,000 (approximately 2 percent) of them are covered in the event of flooding, from a policy…

Read More

2011 disaster losses break records from previous years

H. Cutner

This year was one that brought disasters to areas all around the globe, and these catastrophes came with record breaking bills that have left the figures from previous years behind. According to the data from Swiss Re AG, a reinsurance company, the quakes and tsunami in Japan, the earthquakes in New Zealand, the Thailand floods, and the large number of American tornadoes brought a global disaster loss total up to a staggering $350 billion. The tremendous amount of devastation brought production at factories to a grinding halt and cut off…

Read More

SmarterSafer.org urges Senate to immediately act on NFIP reform after House passes reauthorization on an overwhelming bipartisan vote

Guest Author

(Washington, DC) ‒ SmarterSafer.org today urged the United States Senate to immediately act on National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) reform without weakening the legislation’s effectiveness. The House of Representatives passed legislation to reauthorize the program until Sept. 30, 2016 on an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 406-22. The coalition said the overwhelming bipartisan vote in the House was an important and welcome first step toward bringing needed financial stability to the NFIP, but urged the Senate to pass an improved final extension that includes long-term reforms to ensure the program’s future…

Read More

A spring cleaning of America’s flood insurance program

Nordstrom

With spring now insight, it’s time to prepare for nasty weather. Depending on what part of the nation you live in, that could mean tornados and hail, or spring rains and flooding. This is a good time to examine your homeowner’s policy for any needed updates that may need to be made. Last year we had amazing weather activity. In the United States, we saw abundant rainfall; with many states receiving record amounts and other states getting well over normal. Snow and bitter cold temperatures set seasonal records, and numerous…

Read More