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Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   Our guest, Mark Prysock, RIMS General Counsel & VP of External Affairs, is here to tell us about the RIMS Legislative Summit 2025, in Washington D.C. on March 19th and 20th. Mark shares the top five RIMS legislative priorities, what they mean, and how they impact the risk management profession. These include the need to regulate private third-party legislation funding, data privacy, and cyber security, the National Flood Insurance Program, non-profit tax reform, and the Investing in Tomorrow's Workforce Act, liberalizing College 529s to allow using them for certifications. Listen for details on the RIMS Legislative Summit 2025, why you should attend, and what you can expect from it. Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:15] Public registration is open for RISKWORLD 2025! RIMS wants you to Engage Today and Embrace Tomorrow in Chicago from May 4th through May 7th. Register at RIMS.org/RISKWORLD and the link in this episode's show notes. [:33] About this episode. We will be joined by RIMS General Counsel and Vice President for External Affairs, Mark Prysock to discuss RIMS's legislative priorities and the RIMS Legislative Summit.. [:59] RIMS-CRMP Workshops! RIMS will partner with Purima once again on March 5th and 6th to deliver a virtual RIMS-CRMP Prep Course. Links to these courses can be found through the Certification page of RIMS.org and this episode's show notes. [1:18] Virtual Workshops! On February 26th and 27th, Elise Farnham of Illumine Consulting will lead “Applying and Integrating ERM”. “Managing Data for ERM” will be hosted by Pat Saporito. That course starts on March 12th, 2025. [1:44] A link to the full schedule of virtual workshops can be found on the RIMS.org/education and RIMS.org/education/online-learning pages. A link is also in this episode's show notes. [1:55] RISKWORLD registration is open. Take advantage of our Super Savings Rate by February 28th. Register at RIMS.org/RISKWORLD. [2:07] Speaking of RISKWORLD, next week, we will have one of the main stage keynotes, Holly Ransom, join us. Be sure to subscribe to RIMScast to make sure you get that episode as it comes out! [2:19] Today's episode is all about RIMS's legislative priorities and how those priorities will be addressed at the RIMS Legislative Summit 2025, March 19th and 20th in Washington, D.C. You can learn more about it at RIMS.org/advocacy. [2:37] One of my favorite RIMS colleagues is here to discuss all things legislation. Mark Prysock is our General Counsel and Vice President for External Affairs. [2:48] Mark is the point person for the RIMS Legislative Summit 2025, helping to ensure that our priorities at RIMS are communicated on behalf of our members to representatives in Congress. [3:02] Mark is going to join me today to discuss the top five RIMS legislative priorities in a little bit more detail, provide some additional perspective, and discuss the agenda a little bit, which will be finalized soon. [3:19] Interview! Mark Prysock, welcome back to RIMScast! [3:26] The RIMS Legislative Summit 2025 will be held on March 19th and 20th in Washington, D.C. This is a different time of year to host the summit. It was formerly held in September or October, depending on whether it was an election year. [3:56] Mark says the event was shifted to March because Congress, in general, seems to be fatigued by the end of the year. By September or October, it seemed that Congress was pretty much done with what they planned to get done for the year already. [4:13] RIMS thought it would make sense to meet with them in the first quarter of the year rather than the last quarter and see if they can't get more engagement or interest in RIMS's issues. Mark is excited about this change to March for the Summit. Congress will be newly in session. [4:41] The Summit participants will be meeting some new committee chairs and ranking members for the first time. This is going to be a great shift for the RIMS Legislative Summit. [5:02] This year will be a little different because there is going to be a significant tax bill passed. In 2017 there was a large package of temporary tax cuts which are set to expire this year. No one in Congress wants those tax cuts to expire and hit the American people with a tax hike. [5:27] To extend those tax cuts, Congress has to find other ways to generate tax revenue. So there will probably be a big tax bill this year. This is a good time to engage with the broader association community and members of Congress on these issues. [6:05] Mark says the Congressional Budget Office will rate how much of an impact, positively or negatively, a bill is going to have on the government's finances. Eight years was the maximum they could push out these tax cuts without the government going over the tax cliff. [6:30] These temporary tax cuts are set to expire in September. Congress will need to do something about that. [6:39] The top five RIMS legislative priorities are listed on the RIMS.org site. Please see the link in this episode's show notes. Justin and RIMS CEO Gary LaBranche discussed these legislative priorities in a recent RIMScast episode. [7:07] The top five legislative priorities, in no particular order, include third-party litigation funding. This issue is gaining a lot of traction in Washington. Mark defines third-party litigation funding as private investors backing civil litigation with significant sums of money. [7:39] There are currently no disclosure requirements. It can be a national security risk when foreign agents fund litigation here in the United States. Funders are often in a position to take control of litigation. They often get paid before the claimants and there is little regulation. [8:23] On both sides of the aisle, there's a feeling that Congress needs to adopt, at least, some disclosure requirements so the courts and arguably, the other parties to the lawsuit are aware of who is backing this litigation. [8:43] RIMS is particularly concerned about the national security threat. There could be bad players from around the world funding litigation against American businesses. This concern seems to be gaining traction in the House and the Senate. [9:08] RIMS is very happy to be actively involved in a broader group that's working on this issue. [9:27] The Plaintiffs Bar loves third-party litigation funding because it can make filing and pursuing lawsuits extremely profitable. They may not embrace limits on it. [10:10] Another legislative priority is data privacy and cyber security. RIMS is interested in having Congress pass a uniform data privacy law. Right now, there's a patchwork of state laws that your company needs to know if it operates in multiple jurisdictions. It's not an easy thing to do. [10:45] The last session of Congress came close to passing a Uniform Data Privacy Bill. That bill had a couple of significant flaws. It created carve-outs for the laws of favored states such as California, New York, and Massachusetts. [11:24] It also created a private right of action so individuals could sue companies for failing to comply with this law. The outcome of those cases would be on a state-by-state basis. Over time, this would lead to a patchwork of state laws. [11:48] RIMS is hoping to get a better version of the unified standard bill passed this session. [11:53] RIMS is looking for a reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), currently part of the Continuing Resolution funding the federal government. It's “must pass” legislation. Few serious lawmakers would consider it good to shut down the government. [12:25] The Continuing Resolution gets renewed regularly. The NFIP, rolled up into it, also gets renewed regularly. It's hard to make structural enhancements to a program that is part of the Continuing Resolution. The CR is often passed at the last minute; it's hard to change it. [13:21] Non-profit Tax Reform is a new issue. It's in a tax bill being considered to generate revenue to cover extending the expiring tax cuts. Tax-exempt organizations pay taxes on unrelated business income, which is a foggy area. Many organizations don't pay any tax. [13:54] There is a movement to reconsider non-profit tax exemptions. The idea is that the corporate tax rate, currently 21%, should be levied against all non-donation revenue that associations and non-profit organizations generate. [14:10] For RIMS, that would include event revenue, sponsorships, royalties, membership dues, and any other non-donation revenue. It's a significant deal. [14:29] Mark sees two drivers to this idea. The first is, that Congress does need to find a big pot of money to make sure the government doesn't go off this tax cliff. The second is an intellectual argument that it's time to take another look at why we're not taxing these organizations more. [14:52] It's a significant issue for RIMS and the association community at large because of the financial hit they could all take. Mark believes it will be considered by Congress relatively early this year. [15:05] Justin adds a statement that “RIMS has joined the steering committee of ASAE's Community Impact Coalition to protect the non-profit community and educate Congress on the societal benefits of the tax-exempt sector.” [15:21] ASAE is the American Society of Association Executives. It's an association for association people. Justin met some of the ASAE executives at an NYSAE event last year. They are all in alignment on this issue. [15:43] Plug Time! RIMS Webinars! HUB International continues its Ready for Tomorrow Series with RIMS. On February 20th, they will host “Ready for the Unexpected? Strategies for Property Valuation, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity in 2025”. [16:03] On March 13th, our friends from Global Risk Consultants will return to discuss “How to Make Your Property Insurance Submission AI-Ready”. [16:13] On a unique day and time, March 26th at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, members of the RIMS Strategic and Enterprise Risk Management Council will extend the dialog that began in the recent RIMS Executive Report “Understanding Interconnected Risks”. [16:31] More webinars will be announced soon and added to the RIMS.org/webinars page. Go there to register. Registration is complimentary for RIMS members. [16:43] Nominations are also open for the Donald M. Stuart Award which recognizes excellence in risk management in Canada. Links are in this episode's show notes. [16:54] The First of (hopefully) Many RIMS Texas Regional Conferences will be held in San Antonio from August 4th through 6th, 2025. The Risk Management Roundup in San Antonio is set to unite the Texas RIMS Chapters and welcome risk professionals from around the world. [17:13] You can join as a speaker. The Conference Planning Committee is interested in submissions that explore technology and cyber risk, workforce protection and advancement, energy and sustainability, extreme weather, construction, restaurant, retail, hospitality, and more. [17:35] The deadline to submit your proposal is Monday, February 24th. The link to the event and the submission process is in this episode's show notes. Go check it out! [17:47] Let's Return to My Interview with RIMS General Counsel & VP of External Affairs, Mark Prysock! [17:58] The fifth RIMS top legislative priority is the Invest in Tomorrow's Workforce Act. That has emerged in the last year or so, about 529 Savings Plans. In the last Congress, there was strong bi-partisan, bi-cameral support to pass this legislation. [18:15] This bill would allow College 529 plans to be used to pay for certification programs, like the RIMS-CRMP. There's a strong coalition, led by ASAE, that emerged last year to get this legislation moving. [19:06] This bill would benefit association members in two ways: Members with 529 plans could use them for certifications, and many associations have certification programs that would benefit if 529 dollars were used to pay for them. [19:34] Will all five priorities be addressed on Capitol Hill during the Summit? Mark will prep RIMS members to go forward and talk about all five issues. It's possible that some of the issues will not have surfaced enough for RIMS members to spend a lot of time discussing them. [19:50] If no House or Senate bill has been introduced on the issue, it would be premature to try to have a conversation about it with a Congressional staffer or a member of Congress. On the other hand, an issue may already have been settled and wouldn't be a priority to discuss. [20:23] Mark is moving forward with the idea that there will probably be five issues, but practically speaking, it may work out to be three. [20:39] The agenda for the Legislative Summit is on the RIMS Advocacy page. Click on the Register Now button to see it. [20:58] Mark gives an overview of what to expect at the RIMS Legislative Summit 2025. Wednesday, March 19th, is Education Day, a crash course in legislation. U.S. Chamber lobbyists, members of the administration, members from Capitol Hill, and Mark will talk on these issues. [21:24] The idea is to make sure RIMS members are well-briefed before they go to the Hill. They will understand the key talking points and will have the key talking points in hand. It's very important to know what the “ask” is; what we are asking the members of Congress to do. [21:46] By the end of the day, the RIMS member will be prepped. On Wednesday evening there will be a nice reception. [21:56] Thursday, March 20th, is the day the RIMS members go to the Hill, meet with Congressional Staff, maybe meet with members of Congress, and talk about the RIMS legislative priorities. [22:38] Something Mark is working on and hopes to finalize and announce soon is a private tour of the U.S. Capitol Building on Tuesday, for those who arrive early enough. Tours are normally led by current or former members of Congress. The tours are entertaining and memorable. [23:09] Mark is a former Congressional staffer. He enjoyed working on Capitol Hill. He spent a lot of time sitting across the table from people like the RIMS members. He emphasizes that Congressional staff are more interested in hearing from you (constituents) than from lobbyists. [24:11] Don't in any way be intimidated by the thought of going up to Capitol Hill and lobbying. The staff do want to hear from you! [24:24] Mark and his experience help put the RIMS attendees at a little bit of an advantage in putting things in a way that will get through to the staffers and be heard. He speaks the language! [24:52] Mark, it has been a pleasure to see you. One thing I want to mention: Only U.S. RIMS members and individuals who are representing U.S.-based entities of RIMS can attend the RIMS Legislative Summit! You don't have to live in the U.S. to be an attendee. [25:16] Mark is looking for a keynote speaker to speak to the RIMS Legislative Summit 2025 at the reception on Wednesday the 19th. Stay tuned! [25:56] Special thanks again to RIMS General Counsel and Vice President of External Affairs, Mark Prysock. Learn more about RIMS advocacy efforts at RIMS.org/Advocacy. If you go there, you'll find the registration page for the RIMS Legislative Summit on March 19th and 20th, 2025. [26:18] More announcements about the summit will be made here on RIMScast as they are released. Also on the RIMS Advocacy page, check out the RISKPAC, the RIMS Political Action Committee, the Chapter Advocacy Ambassador program, and more. [26:33] More RIMS Plugs! You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. Links to sponsored episodes are in our show notes. [27:01] RIMScast has a global audience of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let's collaborate and help you reach them! Contact pd@rims.org for more information. [27:19] Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information. [27:37] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today's risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more. [27:53] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com. It is written and published by the best minds in risk management. [28:07] Justin Smulison is the Business Content Manager at RIMS. You can email Justin at Content@RIMS.org. [28:15] Thank you all for your continued support and engagement on social media channels! We appreciate all your kind words. Listen every week! Stay safe!   Mentioned in this Episode: RISKWORLD 2025 — May 4‒7 | Register today! | Super savings rate ends Feb. 28. RIMS Legislative Summit — March 19‒20, 2025 RIMS Announces Legislative Priorities for 2025 Nominations for the Donald M. Stuart Award Spencer Educational Foundation — General Grants 2026 — Application Dates RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2025 | Submit an Educational Session by Feb. 24. RIMS Risk Management magazine RIMS Webinars: RIMS.org/Webinars “Ready for the Unexpected? Strategies for Property Valuation, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity in 2025” | Sponsored by Hub International | Feb. 20, 2025 “How to Make Your Property Insurance Submission AI-Ready” | Sponsored by Global Risk Consultants, a TÜV SÜD Company | March 13, 2025 “Understanding Interconnected Risks” | Presented by RIMS and the Strategic and Enterprise Risk Management Council | March 26, 2025   Upcoming RIMS-CRMP Prep Virtual Workshops: “Stay Competitive with the RIMS-CRMP” | Presented by the RIMS Greater Bluegrass Chapter February 19‒20, 2025 | Instructor: Chris Mandel RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep with PARIMA | March 5‒6 and April 22‒23 | Virtual Full RIMS-CRMP Prep Course Schedule   Upcoming Virtual Workshops: “Fundamentals of Insurance” | Feb. 19‒20 | Instructor: Gail Kiyomura “Applying and Integrating ERM” | Feb. 26‒27 | Instructor: Elise Farnham “Managing Data for ERM” | March 12 | Instructor: Pat Saporito See the full calendar of RIMS Virtual Workshops RIMS-CRMP Prep Workshops   Related RIMScast Episodes: “Kicking off 2025 with RIMS CEO Gary LaBranche”   Sponsored RIMScast Episodes: “Simplifying the Challenges of OSHA Recordkeeping” | Sponsored by Medcor “Risk Management in a Changing World: A Deep Dive into AXA's 2024 Future Risks Report” | Sponsored by AXA XL “How Insurance Builds Resilience Against An Active Assailant Attack” | Sponsored by Merrill Herzog “Third-Party and Cyber Risk Management Tips” | Sponsored by Alliant “RMIS Innovation with Archer” | Sponsored by Archer “Navigating Commercial Property Risks with Captives” | Sponsored by Zurich “Breaking Down Silos: AXA XL's New Approach to Casualty Insurance” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Weathering Today's Property Claims Management Challenges” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Storm Prep 2024: The Growing Impact of Convective Storms and Hail” | Sponsored by Global Risk Consultants, a TÜV SÜD Company “Partnering Against Cyberrisk” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Harnessing the Power of Data and Analytics for Effective Risk Management” | Sponsored by Marsh “Accident Prevention — The Winning Formula For Construction and Insurance” | Sponsored by Otoos “Platinum Protection: Underwriting and Risk Engineering's Role in Protecting Commercial Properties” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Elevating RMIS — The Archer Way” | Sponsored by Archer “Alliant's P&C Outlook For 2024” | Sponsored by Alliant “Why Subrogation is the New Arbitration” | Sponsored by Fleet Response “Cyclone Season: Proactive Preparation for Loss Minimization” | Sponsored by Prudent Insurance Brokers Ltd. “Subrogation and the Competitive Advantage” | Sponsored by Fleet Response   RIMS Publications, Content, and Links: RIMS Membership — Whether you are a new member or need to transition, be a part of the global risk management community! RIMS Virtual Workshops On-Demand Webinars RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy RIMS Strategic & Enterprise Risk Center RIMS-CRMP Stories — Featuring RIMS Vice President Manny Padilla!   RIMS Events, Education, and Services: RIMS Risk Maturity Model®   Sponsor RIMScast: Contact sales@rims.org or pd@rims.org for more information.   Want to Learn More? Keep up with the podcast on RIMS.org, and listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.   Have a question or suggestion? Email: Content@rims.org.   Join the Conversation! Follow @RIMSorg on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.   About our guest: Mark Prysock, RIMS General Counsel & VP of External Affairs   Production and engineering provided by Podfly.  

More and more Americans face the threat of flooding. And as a country, we are woefully unprepared. Cities like Charleston and Miami already see routine coastal flooding. Hurricane Helene recently hammered many inland communities with flooding. And the risk is only rising.FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) sells about 90% of the nation's flood insurance policies, but only a small percentage of Americans are covered. In an effort to account for climate change, expand coverage, and make the NFIP more "fair," FEMA recently overhauled its flood insurance program. It's called Risk Rating 2.0, and the sweeping changes are proving to be highly controversial.In this episode, we talk to Rebecca Elliott, author of Underwater, about how the story of American flood insurance is really a story about people and our values as a nation.For more resources about flood insurance and Risk Rating 2.0, check out the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance.---This episode was hosted by Carlyle Calhoun and Eva Tesfaye. Carlyle Calhoun is the managing producer. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski and our theme music is by Jon Batiste. Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and The Water Collaborative. WWNO's Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

More and more Americans face the threat of flooding. And as a country, we are woefully unprepared. Cities like Charleston and Miami already see routine coastal flooding. Hurricane Helene recently hammered many inland communities with flooding. And the risk is only rising. FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) sells about 90% of the nation's flood insurance policies, but only a small percentage of Americans are covered. In an effort to account for climate change, expand coverage, and make the NFIP more "fair," FEMA recently overhauled its flood insurance program. It's called Risk Rating 2.0, and the sweeping changes are proving to be highly controversial.In this episode, we talk to Rebecca Elliott, author of Underwater, about how the story of American flood insurance is really a story about people and our values as a nation.For more resources about flood insurance and Risk Rating 2.0, check out the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance.  This episode was hosted by Carlyle Calhoun and Eva Tesfaye. Carlyle Calhoun is the managing producer. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski and our theme music is by Jon Batiste. Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and The Water Collaborative. WWNO's Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. 

春节的脚步越来越近了，从本周开始，《商业就是这样》会休息一段时间，2月6日起再恢复更新。而在这段时间里，我们准备推荐两期过往的节目。如果你错过了此前的更新，现在正是补番的好机会。第一期我们关注一个有些严峻的话题，2025年初，持续肆虐的加州山火已经造成了不可忽视的损失。关于它的讨论，也早已从单纯的自然灾害，迅速转向了援助力量不足、预警机制失灵，以及保险公司的“灵活应变”。把注意力和资金投入在产业转型上固然重要，但让政策的重点从灾后重建，转向灾前城市韧性、抗灾体系建设、自然环境的修复以及公众抗灾意识的培养上，却更为迫切。所以本周，我们邀请大家重听我们在2024年9月底，针对巨灾保险机制做的这期节目，希望坏消息都留在过去一年。感谢听友们过去一年来对我们的支持和鼓励，提前祝大家新春快乐！| 主播 |肖文杰、约小亚| 资料整理 |陈凯悦| 时间轴 |00:34 自然灾害造成的损失，是30年GDP的2.25%03:01 保险的起源就是应对天灾06:54 巨灾保险为什么难做？11:04 日本地震保险制度的三个特点15:50 美国洪水保险计划的本质20:55 2005年，一夜回到……22:10 1997年后，地震在中国被“责任免除”25:00 汶川地震的经济损失，保险赔了0.2%27:18 让巨灾保险普及的技术基础32:57 像“竹笋”一样应对巨灾| 延伸资料 |《极端气候重整保险业》，王杰夫、张云亭，《第一财经》杂志世界银行2020年对于中国灾害救助体系的报告世界银行统计的自然灾害对于中国经济社会的影响台风“摩羯”吹断多台造价上千万风机，海口文昌经济损失600亿，第一财经《你的保险能为“巨灾”买单吗》，《湖南日报》国家金融监督管理总局财政部关于扩大城乡居民住宅巨灾保险保障范围进一步完善巨灾保险制度的通知《洪水保险深度探讨：中国如何借鉴NFIP之得失》，澎湃新闻《巨灾保险概述与中再巨灾平台介绍》| 后期制作 |秋秋| 声音设计 |刘三菜| 收听方式 |你可以通过小宇宙、苹果播客、Spotify、喜马拉雅、网易云音乐、QQ 音乐、荔枝、豆瓣等平台收听节目。| 认识我们 |微信公众号：第一财经 YiMagazine联系我们：thatisbiz@yicai.com

Join us for a groundbreaking conversation with the Honorable Mike Twitty, the Pinellas County Property Appraiser, as we unlock the mysteries behind the innovative updates to the PCPAOgov site. We promise you'll gain valuable insights into the often-confusing FEMA 50% rule letter, understanding its true origins and how it assists property owners in navigating the aftermath of storms. Discover how this massive three-year project enhances user experience with cutting-edge tools and architecture, especially for residents dealing with storm-induced challenges. This episode is a treasure trove of knowledge for property owners, offering practical guidance on handling property appraisal intricacies and storm-related repairs with confidence.We also tackle the complex world of FEMA regulations and permitting processes in Pinellas County, drawing lessons from Hurricane Ian's impact. Learn about the critical importance of flood insurance compliance and the potential pitfalls of neglecting FEMA guidelines, as evidenced by Lee County's loss of NFIP insurance discounts. Our discussion shines a light on the crucial role floodplain managers play in efficiently managing the rebuilding appraisal process, ensuring timely permit approvals amidst the bureaucracy. With insights from Mike Twitty, we equip you with the tools to navigate governmental red tape and streamline your storm-related permit endeavors.

Major flooding events are increasingly common across the U.S., but homeowners looking for flood insurance will find few choices. The main providers of flood insurance is the U.S. government through the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP. But even though the NFIP is one of the only flood insurance games in town, it's drowning in debt. On today's episode, the NFIP's struggle to stay afloat. Related listening: Hazard maps: The curse of knowledge (Apple / Spotify) When insurers can't get insurance Flood money For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

AM Best Senior Industry Analyst Christopher Graham discuss a new Best's Special Report that finds private insurer appetite for flood risks appears to be sluggish.

On this week's program, your host, Justin Mog, comes in out of the rain for a discussion about sustainable floodplain management and recovery in the wake of disasters like Hurricane Helene. Joining us this week is Eileen Shader, Senior Director of Floodplain Restoration at American Rivers (https://www.americanrivers.org/), who shares the results of a new analysis of the nation's floodplains by American Rivers and Conservation Science Partners which found that 90% of floodplains across the lower 48 have been adversely impacted by human actions. Listen in as we explore how the flood damage in western NC demonstrates how rivers are dynamic systems that need space to move across the floodplain. Learn how the National Flood Insurance Program influences where and how communities build next to rivers; and how NFIP flood hazard maps work, and how they can be improved. We discuss ways that communities, states, and the federal government can help affected communities rebuild better after floods; and the need for dam removal projects across the country. For a list of organizations accepting donations to assist flood victims in Appalachia go to: https://www.lpm.org/news/2024-09-30/how-to-help-hurricane-helene-survivors-in-appalachia ...And in western North Carolina: https://www.bpr.org/bpr-news/2024-09-28/list-ways-to-donate-and-help-flood-victims-in-western-north-carolina-after-hurricane-helene Other opportunities to support recent flood victims include: https://www.volunteerflorida.org/donatefdf/ https://easttennesseefoundation.org/grants/neighbor-to-neighbor-disaster-relief-fund/ https://www.nccommunityfoundation.org/nonprofits/disaster-relief-fund/hurricane-helene-response https://www.unitedwayabc.org/news/hurricane-helene-relief-efforts https://donate.mannafoodbank.org/ https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/belovedasheville https://www.redcross.org/donate/dr/hurricane-helene.html/ Additional resources: Natural Defenses: Safeguarding Communities From Floods: https://www.americanrivers.org/conservation-resource/natural-defenses-safeguarding-communities-floods/ Weathering Change: Policy Reforms that Save Money and Make Communities Safer https://www.americanrivers.org/conservation-resource/weathering-change/ As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at http://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at http://appalatin.com

Tune in to HAR Community Conversations on Thursday, August 1, at noon as we welcome Gilbert Giron of FEMA. He will discuss flood risks in Houston, flood insurance, and the National Flood Insurance Program!   https://www.floodsmart.gov/   Sign up for Free Industry News Subscriptions for HAR Members here-   https://www.harconnect.com/free-industry-news-subscriptions-for-har-members/   Are you an HAR MLS Platinum Subscriber? Join our Facebook Group! Click to join. Sign Up for your free Real Estate News Subscription here. Sign up for your free Inman Select Subscription here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube , and LinkedIn.

Every American who has a mortgage is required by their bank to have homeowners insurance, but getting it and keeping it is becoming a challenge. In this episode, hear the highlights of a Senate hearing examining the problems in the homeowners insurance market and why they might lead to much bigger problems next time disaster strikes. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via Support Congressional Dish via (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Effects of Climate on Insurance Christopher Flavelle and Mira Rojanasakul. May 13, 2024. The New York Times. Chris Van Hollen et al. September 7, 2023. Chris Van Hollen, U.S. Senator for Maryland. Alice C. Hill. August 17, 2023. Council on Foreign Relations. Insurance Information Institute. Antonio Grimaldi et al. November 19, 2020. McKinsey & Company. Lobbying OpenSecrets. OpenSecrets. OpenSecrets. Heritage Foundation SourceWatch. Demotech William Rabb. April 15, 2024. Insurance Journal. Parinitha Sastry et al. December 2023. Fannie Mae Adam Hayes. May 17, 2023. Investopedia. Hurricanes National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Audio Sources Senate Committee on the Budget June 5, 2024 Witnesses: Glen Mulready, Insurance Commissioner, State of Oklahoma Rade Musulin, Principal, Finity Consulting Dr. Ishita Sen, Assistant Professor of Finance, Harvard Business School Deborah Wood, Florida Resident , Research Fellow, Heritage Foundation's Grover Hermann Center for the Federal Budget Clips 23:05 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): In 2022 and 2023, more than a dozen insurance companies left the Florida residential market, including national insurers like Farmers. Residents fled to Citizens Property Insurance, the state backed insurer of last resort, which ballooned from a 4% market share in 2019 to as much as 17% last year. If it has to pay out claims that exceed its reserves, citizens can levy a surcharge on Florida insurance policy holders across the state. Good luck with that. Particularly if the surcharge grows to hundreds or even thousands of dollars to depopulate its books. Citizens has let private insurers cherry pick out its least risk policies. Those private insurers may have problems of their own, as we will hear today. 25:10 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): The federal budget takes a hit because these insurers and their policies are accepted by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, who either own or guarantee a large part of our $12 trillion mortgage market. This all sounds eerily reminiscent of the run-up to the mortgage meltdown of 2008, including a role of potentially captive or not fully responsible rating agencies. 25:45 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): Florida is far from alone. A New York Times investigation found that the insurance industry lost money on homeowners coverage in 18 states last year, and the states may surprise you. The list includes Illinois, Michigan, Utah, Washington, and Iowa. Insurers in Iowa lost money each of the last four years. This is a signal that hurricanes and earthquakes, once the most prevalent perils, are being rivaled by hail, windstorms, and wildfires. 28:00 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): This isn't all that complicated. Climate risk makes things uninsurable. No insurance makes things unmortgageable. No mortgages crashes the property markets. Crashed property markets trash the economy. It all begins with climate risk, and a major party pretending that climate risk isn't real imperils our federal budget and millions of Americans all across the country. 33:45 Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA): Insurance premiums are far too high across the board and may increase after the recent storms, including those very storms in my state of Iowa. Climate change isn't the primary driver of insurance rate hikes and collapse of the insurance industry isn't imminent. Although I'll have to say, Iowa had six property and casualty companies pull out of insuring Iowans. Climate change doesn't explain why auto insurance premiums in 2024 have increased by a whopping 20% year over year. It also doesn't account for the consistent failure of liberal cities to fight crime, which has raised insurance risk and even caused insurers to deny coverage. Expensive liberal policies, not climate change, are much to blame for these market dynamics. 39:00 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): The first witness is Rade Musulin. Rade is an actuary with 45 years of experience in insurance, specializing in property pricing, natural perils, reinsurance, agriculture, catastrophe, risk modeling, public policy development, and climate risk. Specifically, he spent many years working in Florida, including as chair of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Advisory Council during the time in which Citizens Property Insurance Corporation was established. 39:35 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): Our second witness is Dr. Ishida Sen. Dr. Sen is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School. Her recent research examines the pricing of property insurance and the interactions between insurance and mortgage markets. This includes the role that institutions and the regulatory landscape play and the broader consequences for real estate markets, climate adaptation, and our overall financial stability. 40:00 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): Our third witness is Deb Wood. Ms. Wood and her husband Dan McGrath are both retired Floridians. They moved to South Florida in 1979 and lived in Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale for 43 years until skyrocketing insurance premiums became too much. They now reside in Tallahassee, Florida. 40:35 Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA): Dr. EJ Antoni is a Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget. His research focuses on fiscal and monetary policy, and he previously was an economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Antoni earned his Master's degree and Doctor's degree in Economics from Northern Illinois University. 41:10 Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA): Commissioner Glen Mulready has served as Oklahoma's 13th Insurance Commissioner and was first elected to this position in 2019. Commissioner Mulready started his insurance career as a broker in 1984, and also served in the Oklahoma State House of Representatives. 42:15 Rade Musulin: Okay. My name is Ray Muslin. I'm an actuary who has extensive experience in natural hazard risks and funding arrangements for the damage and loss they cause. I've worked with many public sector entities on policy responses to the challenges of affordability, availability of insurance, and community resilience. This work included participating in Florida's response to Hurricane Andrew, which included the creation of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. The Cat Fund and Citizens can access different forms of funding than traditional insurance companies. Instead of holding sufficient capital or reinsurance before an event to cover the cost of potential losses, both entities use public sources of capital to reduce upfront costs by partially funding losses post-event through bonding and assessments. All property casualty insurance policy holders, whether in Citizens or not, are subject to its assessments. While the Cat Fund can also assess almost all policies, including automobile, this approach exposes Floridians to debt and repayment if large losses occur, and it subsidizes high risk policies from the entire population. These pools, others like them in other states, and the NFIP have contributed to rapid development in high risk areas driving higher costs in the long run. In Florida, national insurers have reduced their exposure as a significant proportion of the insurance market has moved to Citizens or smaller insurers with limited capital that are heavily dependent on external reinsurance. To date, Florida's system has been successful in meeting its claims obligations, while improvements in building codes have reduced loss exposure. However, for a variety of reasons, including exposure to hurricanes, claims cost inflation, and litigation, Florida's insurance premiums are the highest in the nation, causing significant affordability stress for consumers. According to market research from Bankrate, the average premium for a $300,000 home in Florida is three times the national average, with some areas five times the national average. A major hurricane hitting a densely populated area like Miami could trigger large and long lasting post-event assessments or even exceed the system's funding capacity. Continued rapid exposure growth and more extreme hurricane losses amplified by climate change will cause increasing stress on the nation's insurance system, which may be felt through solvency issues, non-renewals, growth of government pools, and affordability pressure. 44:55 Rade Musulin: Evidence of increasing risk abounds, including Hurricane Otis in 2023, which rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to a cat. five hurricane and devastated Acapulco in Mexico last summer. Water temperatures off Florida exceeded a hundred degrees Fahrenheit last week. As was alluded to earlier, NOAA forecast an extremely active hurricane season for '24. We've seen losses in the Mid-Atlantic from Sandy, record flooding from Harvey, and extreme devastation from Maria, among others. In coming decades, we must prepare for the possibility of more extreme hurricanes and coastal flooding from Texas to New England. 46:50 Dr. Ishita Sen: Good morning Senators. I am Ishita Sen, Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School and my research studies insurance markets. In recent work with co-authors at Columbia University and the Federal Reserve Board, I examine how climate risk creates fiscal and potentially financial instability because of miscalibrated insurer screening standards and repercussions to mortgage markets. 47:15 Dr. Ishita Sen: Insurance is critical to the housing market. Property insurers help households rebuild after disasters by preserving collateral values and reducing the likelihood that a borrower defaults. Insurance directly reduces the risks for mortgage lenders and the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Mortgage Lenders therefore require property insurance and the GSEs only purchase mortgages backed by insurers who meet minimum financial strength ratings, which measure insurer solvency and ability to pay claims. The GSEs accept three main rating agencies AM Best, S & P and, more recently, Demotech. And to provide an example, Fannie Mae requires insurers to have at least a B rating from AM Best, or at least an A rating from Demo Tech to accept a mortgage. Now, despite having this policy in place, we find a dramatic rise in mortgages backed by fragile insurers and show that the GSEs and therefore the taxpayers ultimately shoulder a large part of the financial burden. Our research focuses on Florida because of availability of granular insurance market data, and we show that traditional insurers are exiting and the gap is rapidly being filled by insurers, rated by Demotech, which has about 60% market share in Florida today. These insurers are low quality across a range of different financial and operational metrics, and are at a very high risk of becoming insolvent. But despite their risk, these insurers secure high enough ratings to meet the minimum rating requirements set by the GSEs. Our analysis shows that many actually would not be eligible under the methodologies of other rating agencies, implying that in many cases these ratings are inflated and that the GSEs insurer requirements are miscalibrated. 49:20 Dr. Ishita Sen: We next look at how fragile insurers create mortgage market risks. So in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, homeowners with a policy from one of the insolvent Demotech insurers were significantly more likely to default on their mortgage relative to similar borrowers with policies from stable insurers. This is because insurers that are in financial trouble typically are slower to pay claims or may not pay the full amounts. But this implies severe economic hardships for many, many Floridians despite having expensive insurance coverage in place. However, the pain doesn't just stop there. The financial costs of fragile insurers go well beyond the borders of Florida because lenders often sell mortgages, for example, to the GSEs, and therefore, the risks created by fragile insurers spread from one state to the rest of the financial system through the actions of lenders and rating agencies. In fact, we show two reasons why the GSEs bear a large share of insurance fragility risk. First is that lenders strategically securitize mortgages, offloading loans backed by Demotech insurers to the GSEs in order to limit their counterparty risk exposures. And second, that lenders do not consider insurer risk during mortgage origination for loans that they can sell to the GSEs, even though they do so for loans that they end up retaining, indicating lax insurer screening standards for loans that can be offloaded to the GSEs. 50:55 Dr. Ishita Sen: Before I end, I want to leave you with two numbers. Over 90%. That's our estimate of Demotech's market share among loans that are sold to the GSEs. And 25 times more. That's Demotech's insolvency rate relative to AM Best, among the GSE eligible insurers. 57:15 Glen Mulready: As natural disasters continue to rise, understanding the dynamics of insurance pricing is crucial for both homeowners and policymakers. Homeowners insurance is a fundamental safeguard for what is for many Americans their single largest asset. This important coverage protects against financial loss due to damage or destruction of a home and its contents. However, recent years have seen a notable increase in insurance premiums. One significant driver of this rise is convective storms and other severe weather events. Convective storms, which include phenomena like thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hail, have caused substantial damage in various regions. The cost to repair homes and replace belongings after such events has skyrocketed leading insurance companies to adjust their premiums to cover that increased risk. Beyond convective storms, we've witnessed hurricanes, wildfires, and flooding. These events have not only caused damage, but have also increased the long-term risk profile of many areas. Insurance companies are tasked with managing that risk and have responded by raising premiums to ensure they can cover those potential claims. 58:30 Glen Mulready: Another major factor influencing homeowner's insurance premiums is inflation. Inflation affects the cost of building materials, labor, and other expenses related to home repair and reconstruction. As the cost of living increases, so does the cost of claims for insurers. When the price of lumber, steel, and other essential materials goes up, the expense of repairing or rebuilding homes also rises. Insurance companies must reflect these higher costs in their premiums to maintain financial stability and ensure they can meet those contractual obligations to policyholders. 59:35 Glen Mulready: I believe the most essential aspect of managing insurance premiums is fostering a robust, competitive free market. Competition among insurance companies encourages innovation and efficiency, leading to better pricing and services for consumers. When insurers can properly underwrite and price for risk, they create a more balanced and fair market. This involves using advanced data analytics and modeling techniques to accurately assess the risk levels of different properties. By doing so, insurance companies can offer premiums that reflect the true risk, avoiding excessive charges for low risk homeowners, and ensuring high risk properties are adequately covered. Regulation also plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy insurance market. Policyholders must strike a balance between consumer protection and allowing insurers the freedom and flexibility to adjust their pricing based on the risk. Overly stringent regulations can stifle competition and lead to market exits, reducing choices for consumers. We've seen this play out most recently in another state where there were artificial caps put in place on premium increases that worked well for consumers in the short term, but then one by one, all of the major insurers began announcing they would cease to write any new homeowners insurance in that state. These are all private companies, and if there's not the freedom and flexibility to price their products properly, they may have to take drastic steps as we've seen. Conversely, a well-regulated market encourages transparency and fairness, ensuring that homeowners have access to the most affordable and adequate coverage options. 1:02:00 Dr. EJ Antoni: I'm a public finance economist and the Richard F. Aster fellow at the Heritage Foundation, where I research fiscal and monetary policy with a particular focus on the Federal Reserve. I am also a senior fellow at the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. 1:02:15 Dr. EJ Antoni: Since January 2021, prices have risen a cumulative 19.3% on average in the American economy. Construction prices for single family homes have risen much faster, up 30.5% during the same time. 1:03:20 Dr. EJ Antoni: Actuarial tables used in underwriting to estimate risk and future losses, as well as calculate premiums, rely heavily on those input costs. When prices increase radically, precisely as has happened over the last several years, old actuarial tables are of significantly less use when pricing premiums because they will grossly understate the future cost to the insurer. The sharp increase in total claim costs since 2019 has resulted in billions of dollars of losses for both insurers and reinsurers prompting large premium increases to stop those losses. This has put significant financial stress on consumers who are already struggling with a cost of living crisis and are now faced with much higher insurance premiums, especially for homeowners insurance. 1:05:10 Dr. EJ Antoni: The increase in claims related to weather events has undoubtedly increased, but it is not due to the climate changing. This is why the insurance and reinsurance markets do not rely heavily on climate modeling when pricing premiums. Furthermore, climate models are inherently subjective, not merely in how the models are constructed, but also by way of the inputs that the modeler uses. In other words, because insufficient data exists to create a predictive model, a human being must make wide ranging assumptions and add those to the model in place of real world data. Thus, those models have no predictive value for insurers. 1:07:40 Sen. Sheldon Whitehoue (D-RI): You say that this combination of demographics, development, and disasters poses a significant risk to our financial system. What do you mean by risk to our financial system Rade Musulin: Well, Senator, if you look at the combination, as has been pointed out, of high growth and wealth accumulation in coastal areas, and you look at just what we've observed in the climate, much less what's predicted in the future, there is significant exposure along the coastline from Maine to Texas. In fact, my family's from New Jersey and there is enormous development on the coast of New Jersey. And if we start to get major hurricanes coming through those areas, the building codes are probably not up to the same standards they are in Florida. And we could be seeing some significant losses, as I believe was pointed out in the recent Federal Reserve study. Sen. Sheldon Whitehoue (D-RI): And how does that create risk to the financial system? Rade Musulin: Well, because it's sort of a set of dominoes, you start with potentially claims issues with the insurers being stressed and not able to pay claims. You have post-event rate increases as we've seen in Florida, you could have situations where people cannot secure insurance because they can't afford it, then that affects their mortgage security and so on and so forth. So there are a number of ways that this could affect the financial system, sir. Sen. Sheldon Whitehoue (D-RI): Cascading beyond the immediate insurer and becoming a national problem. Rade Musulin: Well, I would just note Senator, that in Florida, the real problems started years after we got past Andrew. We got past paying the claims on Andrew, and then the big problems occurred later when we tried to renew the policies. 1:10:50 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): And you see in this, and I'm quoting you here, parallels in the 2008 financial crisis. What parallels do you see? Dr. Ishita Sen: So just like what happened during the financial crisis, there were rating agencies that gave out high ratings to pools of mortgages backed by subprime loans. Here we have a situation where rating agencies like Demotech are giving out inflated ratings to insurance companies. The end result is sort of the same. There is just too much risk and too many risky mortgages being originated, in this case backed by really low quality insurers that are then entering the financial system. And the consequences of that has to be born by, of course the homeowners, but also the mortgage owners, GSCs (Government Sponsored Enterprises), the lenders, and ultimately the federal and state governments. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): You say, this will be my last question. The fragility of property insurers is an important channel through which climate risk might threaten the stability of mortgage markets and possibly the financial system. What do you mean when you refer to a risk to the financial system? Dr. Ishita Sen: Well, as I was explaining the GSEs, if there are large losses that the GSEs face, then those losses have to be plugged by somebody. So the taxpayers, that's one channel through which you've got risk to the financial system and the GSE's serve as a backstop in the mortgage market. They may not have the ability or capacity to do so in such a scenario, which affects mortgage backed security prices, which are held by all sorts of financial institutions. So that starts affecting all of these institutions. On the other hand, if you've got a bunch of insurers failing, another channel is these insurers are one of the largest investors in many asset classes like corporate bonds, equities, and so on. And they may have to dump these securities at inopportune times, and that affects the prices of these securities as well. 1:12:45 Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-AI): Dr. Antoni, is there any evidence to support the notion that climate change is the greatest threat to the insurance market? Dr. EJ Antoni: No. Senator, there is not. And part of that has to do again, with the fact that when we look at the models that are used to predict climate change, we simply don't have enough empirical data with which we can input into those models. And so as a result of that, we have to have human assumptions on what we think is going to happen based essentially on a guess. And as a result of that, these models really are not of any predictive value, and that's why these models for the last 50 years have been predicting catastrophic outcomes, none of which have come true. 1:14:45 Glen Mulready: This focus on the rating agencies, I would agree with that if that were the be all end all. But the state insurance commissioners in each 50 states is tasked with the financial solvency of the insurance companies. We do not depend on rating agencies for that. We are doing financial exams on them. We are doing financial analysis every quarter on each one of them. So I would agree if that was the sort of be all end all, forgive that phrase, but it's not at all. And we don't depend very much at all on those rating agencies from our standpoint. 1:22:15 Dr. Ishita Sen: On the point about regulators looking at -- rating agencies is not something that we need to look at. I would just point out that in Florida, if you look at the number of exams that the Demotech rated insurers, that by the way have a 20% insolvency rate relative to 0% for traditional insurers, they get examined at the same rate as the traditional insurers like Farmers and AllState get examined, which is not something that you would expect if you're more risky. You would expect regulators to come look at them much, much more frequently. And the risk-based capital requirements that we have currently, which were designed in the 1980s, they're just not sensitive enough to new risks like wildfire and hurricanes and so on. And also not as well designed for under-diversified insurance companies because if so, all of these insurers were meeting the risk-based capital requirements, however, at the same time going insolvent at the rate of 20%. So those two things don't really go hand in hand. 1:23:25 Dr. Ishita Sen: Ultimately what the solution is is something that is obviously the main question that we are here to answer, but I would say that it is extremely hard to really figure out what the solution is, in part because we are not in a position right now to even answer some basic facts about how big the problem is, what exactly the numbers look like. For instance, we do not know basic facts about how much coverage people have in different places, how much they're paying. And when I say we don't know, we don't know this at a granular enough level because the data does not exist. And the first step towards designing any policy would be for us to know exactly how bad the problem is. And then we come up with a solution for that and start to evaluate these different policy responses. Right now we are trying to make policy blindfolded. 1:23:50 Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): So we've had testimony before this committee that we've already spent $5-6 trillion. That's 5,000 to 6,000 billion dollars trying to mitigate climate change. We haven't made a dent in it. Their estimates, it's going to cost tens of trillions of dollars every year to reach net zero. So again, this is not the solution for a real problem, which is the broken insurance market. I have enough Wisconsin residents who live on the Gulf Coast in Florida to know after Hurricane Ian, you got some real problems in Florida. But fixing climate change isn't the solution. 1:33:15 Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR): In looking at the materials I saw that Citizens Property Insurance Company, I gather that's Louisiana and Florida, that have a completely state backed program. Well, alright, so if the state becomes the insurer of last resort and they now suffer the same losses that a regular private insurance company is suffering, now the folks in the state are carrying massive debt. So that doesn't seem like a great solution. Dr. Ishita Sen: That's definitely a problem, right? The problem is of course, that whether the state then has the fiscal capacity to actually withstand a big loss, like a big hurricane season, which is a concern that was raised about Citizens. And in such a scenario then in a world where they do not have enough tax revenue, then they would have to go into financial markets, try to borrow money, which could be very costly and so on. So fiscally it's going to be very challenging for many cities and many municipalities and counties and so on. 1:36:40 Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): I wish there were something we could do that would reduce the climate change we're seeing and the warming of the planet. But I've seen absolutely nothing proposed by anyone that reduces CO2 emissions, methane gases and the heating of the planet. Climate change is going to happen because of the development in China and Indonesia and Brazil, and the only thing that actually makes any measurable impact at all is putting a price on carbon, and no one seems to be willing to consider doing that. Everything else that's being talked about on the climate — Democratic Senator: I got two bills. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): I know you and I are, but you guys had reconciliation. You could have done it all by yourselves and you didn't. So the idea that somehow we're going to fix climate and solve the insurance problem is pie in the sky. That's avoiding the reality that we can't fix climate because that's a global issue, not an American issue. Anyway, let me turn back to insurance. 1:38:30 Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): So the question is, what actions can we take? Fiscal reform? Yes, to try and deal with inflation. Except I want to note something, Mr. Antoni, because you're esteemed at the Heritage Foundation. 72% of federal spending is not part of the budget we vote on. So we talk about Biden wants to spend all this.... 72% we don't vote on; we only vote on 28%. Half of that is the military. We Republicans want more military spending, not less. So that means the other 14%, which the Democrats want to expand, there's no way we can reduce the 14% enough to have any impact on the massive deficits we're seeing. So there's going to have to be a broader analysis of what we have to do to reign in our fiscal challenges. I just want to underscore that. I would say a second thing we can do, besides fiscal reform and dealing with inflation, is stopping subsidizing high risk areas. Basically subsidizing people to build expensive places along the coast and in places that are at risk of wildfire. And we subsidize that and that creates huge financial risk to the system. And finally, mitigation of one kind or another. That's the other thing we can do is all sorts of mitigation: forestry management, having people move in places that are not high risk. But if you want to live in a big house on the coast, you're gonna have to spend a lot of money to insure it or take huge risk. That's just the reality. So those are the three I come up with. Stop the subsidy, mitigation, and fiscal reform. What else am I missing, Mr. Musulin? And I'm just going to go down the line for those that are sort of in this area to give me your perspectives. Rade Musulin: Well, thank you, Senator. And I'd agree with all those things. And I'd also add that we need to start thinking about future-proofing our building codes and land use policies. The sea levels are rising. If you're going to build a house that's supposed to last 75 years, you ought to be thinking about the climate in 75 years when you give somebody a permit to build there. So I'd say that's important. I'd also say that large disasters also drive inflation because it puts more pressure and demand on labor and materials. More disasters means supplies that could have been used to build new homes for Americans or diverted to rebuild homes in the past. So certainly doing things to reduce the vulnerability of properties and improve their resilience is important. And I do think, sir, that there are things we can do about climate change with respect over periods of decades that can make a difference in the long run. Thank you. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): Thank you. Yes. Dr. Ishita Sen: So before that, the one point about inflation that we are missing, which is without doubt it is a contributing factor, but the US has had inflation in the past without such an acute crisis in insurance markets. So whether that is the biggest cause or not is up for debate. I don't think we have reached a conclusion on inflation being the biggest contributor of rising insurance cost. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): It's just a big one. You'd agree It's a big one? Dr. Ishita Sen: I agree. It's a big one, but I wouldn't say it's the biggest one in terms of policy solutions. I completely agree with you on, we need to stop subsidizing building in high risk areas. That's definitely one of the things we need to do that. Mitigation, another point that you bring up. And on that, I would say not only do we need to harden our homes, but we also need to harden our financial institutions, our banks, and our insurance companies in order to make them withstand really large climate shocks that are for sure coming their way. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT): Thank You, Ms. Wood. I'm going to let you pass on this just because that's not your area of expertise. Your experience was something which focused our thinking today. Mr. Mulready. Glen Mulready: Thank you, Senator. I would say amen to your comments, but I'll give you three quick things. Number one, FEMA has a survey out that states that every $1 spent in mitigation saves $6 in lost claims. It pays off. Number two, unfortunately, a lot of communities have to have a disaster happen. In Moore, Oklahoma, back a dozen years ago, an EF5 (tornado) hit, it was just totally devastating. After that, the city of Moore changed their zoning, they changed their building zoning codes, and then third, the city of Tulsa, back in the eighties, had horrible flooding happened. So they invested over decades in infrastructure to prevent flooding. Now we're one of only two communities in the country that are Class one NFIP rated. 1:45:40 Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD): One way to address this, and I think it was discussed in a different matter, is the need to get the data and to get consensus on where the risks lie, which is why last year Senator Whitehouse, Senator Warren and I sent a letter to the Treasury Department, to the Federal Insurance Office (FIO), urging them to collect information from different states. I'm a supporter of a state-based insurance system for property and casualty insurance, but I do think it would benefit all of us to have a sort of national yardstick against which we can measure what's happening. So Dr. Sen, could you talk a little bit about the benefit of having a common source of insurance data through the FIO and how that could benefit state regulators and benefit all of us? Dr. Ishita Sen: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for bringing that up. That's just the first order importance, I think, because we don't even know the basic facts about this problem at a granular enough level. The risks here are local, and so we need to know what's going zip code-by-zip code, census tract-by-census tract, and for regulators to be able to figure out exactly how much risk is sitting with each of these insurance companies they need to know how much policies they're writing, what's the type of coverage they're selling in, what are the cancellations looking like in different zip codes. Only then can they figure out exactly how exposed these different insurers are, and then they can start designing policy about whether the risk-based capital ratios look alright or not, or should we put a surcharge on wildfires or hurricanes and so on? And we do need a comprehensive picture. We just can't have a particular state regulator look at the risks in that state, because of course, the insurer is selling insurance all over the country and we need to get a comprehensive picture of all of that. 1:47:40 Sen. Chris Van Hollen: I appreciate that. I gather that the Treasury Department is getting some resistance from some state insurance regulators. I hope we can overcome that because I'm not sure why anyone would want to deny the American people the benefit of the facts here. 1:48:45 Rade Musulin: I will just note that sometimes climate change itself can contribute to the inflation we've been talking about. For example, there were beetle infestations and droughts and fires in Canada, which decimated some of the lumber crop and led to a fivefold increase in the cost of lumber a few years ago. So some of this claims inflation is actually related to climate change, and I think we need to address that. 1:49:35 Glen Mulready: If you didn't know, the NAIC, National Association of Insurance Commission is in the midst of a data collection right now that will collect that data for at least 80% of the homeowner's market. And we have an agreement with FIO (Federal Insurance Office) to be sharing that data with them. They originally came to us, I got a letter from FIO and they were requesting data that we did not actually collect at the zip code level, and they had a very stringent timeline for that. So my response, it wasn't, no, it was just, look, we can't meet that timeline. We don't collect that today. We can in the future. But from that is where this has grown the data called by the NEIC. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD): So I appreciate, I saw that there had been now this effort on behalf of the....So has this now been worked out? Are there any states that are objecting, to your knowledge at this point in time, in terms of sharing data? Glen Mulready: I don't know about specific states. We will be collecting data that will represent at least 80% of the market share. Music by Editing Production Assistance

Listen Up Home Buyers—Jeff Jackson With FIMAVictoria: Hi, I'm Victoria Ray Henderson, the host of the NABA podcast, Listen Up Homebuyers. So happy to have back for a second round of conversations, Jeff Jackson, the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Federal Insurance Directorate. He leads flood insurance operations for the National Flood Insurance Program at FEMA. And Jeff, I want to thank you so much for being a guest again on Listen Up Homebuyers.Jeff: Thanks. It's great to be back.Victoria: So glad to have you. I'd like to start with a very general question. What should every homebuyer know about flood insurance?Jeff: The most important thing to know is then that in all but the rarest of cases, flood risk is not insured through your homeowner's insurance policy. If you want to have coverage for water that comes from the outside and comes inside your house, so not stink backups, not toilet backups. Those kinds of things, but water coming in from the outside, it requires a separate flood insurance policy. You can either buy that from the National Flood Insurance Program, which is through FIMA, or there often are a number of private flood insurance policies that you can buy as well.Victoria: So if somebody lives in an area that isn't by the coast, isn't necessarily by a creek or a river, what do they need to know about flood insurance?Jeff: Well, it floods everywhere. There have been in the last little bit under 25 years, 99% of the counties in America have flooded. So, it's happening somewhere in your county. And what I would say is it's not always readily apparent just by looking around and seeing the distance to the nearest water source, although that's an extremely important factor. Changes in our built environment, the more we see paving, the more we see development of what was traditionally green space can raise our flood risk as well. And so there can be an illusion that you don't have flood risk when in actuality, you're at least perhaps moderately risky. And that certainly is an area when you get there, you would at least want to strongly only consider buying a flood insurance policy.Victoria: Okay. So as you know, I only work for people buying homes as an exclusive buyer broker. So the first thing that we typically do when they're going to be buying a home is see how well they're qualified to obtain a mortgage. At what point should a home buyer be looking at the risk that could be potentially there in a house of interest?Jeff: I would say it's when you get that listing from your broker and you see a list of houses, it's good to go look them up on the FIMA maps to see if it's a place where you would have to buy flood insurance. And we certainly went over this the last time I was here. But for the folks who are checking in for the first time, if you are in a high-risk area, what's called a special flood hazard area, and you have a federally backed mortgage, which is most mortgages, then you're required to buy. For everyone else, it's an option to buy, and for those where it's required, certainly as you go through the lending process, that will be made clear to you.But really, getting back to the heart of your question, it's when you walk through the door of the house for the first time. It's everything from knowing if it's in a high-risk area as you go and choose to look at the listing, as well as when you walk through the property, look around and look for what are there any signs of water in this house? Are there stomp pumps? Has clearly work been done because there's a drainage issue in a basement? Many places have that. So you don't have to be scared away that it's a matter of going in and learning as much as you can about the property so that you make a decision about whether or not to purchase it, and then if you do purchase it; First, do you have to buy, have flood insurance? And then second, should you choose to buy flood insurance?Victoria: Right, I always tell people that I'm working with that when we go into a house, the first thing I'm going to tell you is everything that's wrong with it. And I go straight to the basement because we both live in the greater Washington, D.C. area, and we have a lot of wet basements, a lot of issues, along the Potomac River. Just last week, I'm working with clients in Old Town, Alexandria, and they were interested in a condominium, and I checked the flood maps, and it's in an A.E. flood map. Walk me through what your advice would be for a homebuyer in that situation if they really wanted to put an offer in on a place like that.Jeff: The first thing I would do is reach out to your insurance agent and get a quote, not just for homeowners insurance, but also for flood insurance. If you're in that A.E. zone, that's one of the zones that is required to purchase if you have a federally backed mortgage. So I would go get a flood quote and factor that in, the cost of that in, when you're determining the affordability of the house, and as you're comparing it to other properties, perhaps where you might not have to buy a flood insurance policy and make that part of your buying decision, the more you can learn about a property, including from the cost perspective. But your number one trigger should be, have your insurance agent on speed dial. So, when you see that house, you know that Saturday is coming, you're getting excited about going and looking at all these properties, you know for that one, you would have to factor in cost.Victoria: When people are looking at properties and it's zoned X, but they aren't that far from a zone A.E., you had mentioned that typical flood insurance isn't covered in most homeowners insurance. Is that correct?Jeff: That's right.Victoria: Yeah. So, if you are anywhere near an A.E., would your advice be to go ahead and look into flood insurance?Jeff: I would go ahead and do it for a couple of reasons. The FIMA flood maps are really a regulatory product designed to decide when we as a country and particularly looking out for the mortgage holders' interest, when we're going to say, hey, we need you to go ahead and purchase this insurance because your high risk. If you're just outside of the high-risk area, you're not no risk, and that's the biggest myth that we have to bust here as we teach folks about flood risk in America. You're probably at medium risk. Medium to medium high is a good way of characterizing it.What we know over time is it only takes about an inch of water that can quickly get you up to around a $25,000 cost repairing your home. So, in that circumstance, I certainly would buy a policy. It really gives you peace of mind. It is an expense and I know with housing being so expensive and insurance costs are rising, it's not exciting to add an additional expense into the household budget to be sure. But we talk to people every year who do have the coverage and who do experience a loss. And they look at, let's say, a $50,000 or $60,000 flood loss, which is pretty common.Victoria: Okay.Jeff: Not average, but common, and so if you don't have the coverage, you're looking at covering that, putting things on a credit card, taking it out of your home equity. If you just bought the property, depending upon the size of your down payment, you may not have a lot of equity, and it really can set you back. People get set back decades and don't financially or don't financially recover at all. So particularly for the people in that situation that you described, it would be a great investment. Your home is your biggest investment for most of us, and this certainly will help you protect that investment.Victoria: Is it possible to give kind of an average, and we're not going to hold you to this, but an average cost for flood insurance? So people have some idea of what they'd be looking at.Jeff: Our average cost is a little bit over $800 right now.Victoria: Okay.Jeff: But it can range and particularly for those who are just outside of a high-risk area, it's going to be a little bit more than that probably. But the average cost right now is just a little bit over $800. The National Flood Insurance Program was created because we have an insurability problem in America, as well as an affordability problem. We haven't unfortunately solved the affordability problem in all these years, but the NFIP is here and we'll sell a policy to anyone in any of the 22,600 participating communities. So that availability problem that we see with, you know, we see insurers pulling out of places like California. We see people dropping people in Florida, insurers dropping people in Florida.With the NFIP that we're going to be there and we're going to continue to sell you the insurance. It is going to be at a risk-based price. That's the affordability piece of things, and it's one of the reasons why certainly for those who can afford to do so, we encourage you to buy, and for those that can't afford it, we continue to advocate to Congress to provide some type of assistance, and we're hopeful that one day that'll be in place as well.Victoria: On this podcast, we're going to include some links so that people can learn more, from the FIMA maps and regarding the flood insurance that you're talking about. Is there anything else that you would like consumers to know and specifically, again, people who are buying homes, anything that you could share with your expertise?Jeff: One is that the FIMA flood map is a snapshot in time. It may be some vintage and certainly has to be reevaluated to make sure it continues to represent the flood picture every five years, but a lot can happen in five years. Maps get updated on a priority order. And so, it's not uncommon to see a 10-year-old map that probably is pretty close to what the risk is. But if you're expecting fine line gradations and risk, that's not really what it's designed to do. It's designed to say it's tremendously helpful for the folks in your community who manage the floodplain, particularly at the county level. It's an important technical product for them. It's important for realtors and it certainly important to help you learn if you have to buy.What it's not great at is a nuanced view of risk, and so I caution against over-reliance on the flood maps, and I think the way you look at it is the right way to think about it, which is not just, am I in or am I out of the high risk zone? But how close am I to water sources? And then give some thought and have some conversation around what have been the changes to the built environment? Say, every map will have a date on it. What's the environment? What's happened since that map was put into place? That certainly is one thing.The second thing I would say is for many years, there's been a school of thought, which is that if you don't have to buy the insurance, you don't need it, you don't need to talk about it. I caution against anybody, gives you a very dismissive, oh, you don't need that, and so we don't need to bother to talk about it. I think that's a thinking that's a little bit behind the times and is certainly not where I would want to be as a consumer in terms of getting service from whoever would be giving me that advice. So I would counsel against you don't need it. I think there are a number of great agents. There are a number of great insurance agents who will help talk you through a nuanced conversation. I think somebody who's willing to get in a conversation with you is where I would want to be as a buyer.Victoria: Yeah, I think exclusive buyer brokers like myself, and we're all over the country, one of the first things we want to do is educate and inform, which is why I have you on this podcast, because people need to know what the risks are, and then they can make a decision based on that. I live in the Washington area, and every summer, I end up flocking to the beach, just like everybody does. Sometimes I drive along that strip, that little narrow strip of Ocean City and Lewis, Delaware, and then Dewey and Rehoboth and just think, this is a pretty risky area.Jeff: Yeah, it certainly is, there's been so much evolution in the science of catastrophe modeling and learning all the flooding events that potentially could happen. The more I talk to those experts, the more that I learn is that the amount of time we're in a home is infinitesimally small. It's just minute, and you'll hear owners of homes say, I've been here for 10 years, I've been here for 15 years, and it's never flooded. So, it's probably not likely to flood. And while previous flooding experience is important, it's just such a small amount of time. I mean, the way the water patterns work, 100 years is just beginning to get to the point where you really get a keen sense of how water is moving around and what the risk is in a particular area.And then that's on top of the fact that we change things so much. I mean, we're fortunate to live in these areas where things are getting torn down and things are getting rebuilt and we need additional parking. And so, there's got to be an extra lot. And so, there's all these things that sort of hopefully will move us away from maybe the people selling us the property had it for 15 years and it never flooded there. I wouldn't let that be the end of my inquiry.Victoria: No, definitely not. I mean, it's the biggest financial commitment you're going to make in your life until you, I guess, do it again. But you don't want to make a mistake like this.Jeff: We have a great website called FloodSmart.gov. It has all kinds of information about flood insurance policies, and that's important, but also just about flood risk in America. So, it's a great resource to go out and learn a little bit. Encourage your listeners to go check that out and we've got some videos on that as well. So, go check that out.Victoria: Great. Jeff Jackson is the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Federal Insurance Directorate. He leads flood insurance operations for the National Flood Insurance Program at FIMA. Jeff, it is such a pleasure to talk to you again about flood insurance here on Listen Up Homebuyers.Jeff: It was great to be with you. Thanks.FEMA flood insurance Listen Up, Home Buyers! The podcast offering advice and tips from true buyer agents. Host and Producer, Victoria Ray Henderson is the owner and broker of HomeBuyer Brokerage in the Washington D.C. area. Victoria is and a member of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents.

In this pivotal episode of the Flood Insurance Guru podcast, we're diving deep into the essentials every real estate agent must understand about flood zones, bank requirements, flood insurance options, flood risk scores, and flood loss history. Whether you're navigating the sale of a waterfront property or advising clients in flood-prone areas, this episode is your comprehensive guide to mastering the complexities of flood insurance and ensuring your clients are well-informed and protected.Flood Zones Demystified: We start by breaking down the ABCs of flood zones. From high-risk areas designated as zones A and V to the moderate-to-low-risk zones B, C, and X, understanding these classifications is crucial for real estate agents. We'll explain how these zones impact insurance requirements, property values, and buyer perceptions.Bank Requirements Unveiled: Next, we tackle the often-complex world of bank requirements for properties in different flood zones. Learn about the mandatory purchase requirement for flood insurance in high-risk areas and how to navigate the exceptions and nuances that can impact your closing process.Exploring Flood Insurance Options: With the landscape of flood insurance constantly evolving, we'll guide you through the traditional NFIP policies versus the burgeoning market of private flood insurance. Discover how to evaluate the best options for your clients, considering coverage limits, policy costs, and the intricacies of what's covered and what's not.Flood Risk Score Explained: The introduction of Risk Rating 2.0 by FEMA has revolutionized how flood risks are assessed, moving beyond simple zone designations to a more nuanced flood risk score. We'll dive into how these scores are calculated and what they mean for homeowners, offering a clearer picture of the actual risk faced by properties.The Importance of Flood Loss History: Lastly, we'll discuss the critical role of a property's flood loss history in determining insurance rates and property desirability. Understanding how previous flood claims affect current and future policies is key for any real estate agent looking to provide the best advice to their clients.Join us in Episode 434 of the Flood Insurance Guru podcast as we equip real estate agents with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the flood insurance landscape confidently. Whether you're a seasoned agent or new to the field, this episode is packed with invaluable insights to help you safeguard your clients' investments and ensure smooth, informed property transactions in flood-impacted areas.

Episode 702: The January property reinsurance renewal has set the stage for an interesting year ahead. On today's Unscripted, Neil Alldredge, NAMIC president and CEO, talks with Aon's Brad Melvin and Patrick Abbe about the shifting market dynamics and what we can expect in 2024. 

Jeff Jackson has served as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Federal Insurance Directorate within Resilience since 2020. In this role, Jeff leads flood insurance operations for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) at FEMA. The NFIP currently has approximately 4.7 million policyholders across the nation. The program collects over $3.5 billion in revenue annually. During […]

Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society. Mark Prysock is the RIMS General Counsel & VP of External Affairs. Lynn Haley Pilarski is the RIMS External Affairs Committee Chair and the Risk & Insurance Counsel for GM. In this episode, Mark and Lynn update us on the RIMS Legislative Summit 2023 to be held in Washington D.C. on October 25th and 26th. They explain why it is important for RIMS Advocacy Ambassadors to participate from every state in the U.S. They review the top RIMS legislative concerns and how you can become educated on these issues and discuss them knowledgeably with Congressional Staffers. They share their enthusiasm about this critical event and how it will benefit you to attend. Listen in to learn about the legislative matters important to U.S. risk managers.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMScast. [:35] About today's episode, where we will discuss RIMS Advocacy and government affairs and the RIMS Legislative Summit 2023 with Lynn Haley Pilarsky and Mark Prysock. [1:00] All about exciting, upcoming RIMS events! Registration is open for the RIMS Canada Conference 2023, which will be held September 11th–14th in Ottawa! Visit RIMSCanadaConference.ca for details. [1:21] For those of you based in Canada, Justin wants to hear from you about a game show he will be hosting on September 13th. A link to a 15-question survey is in this episode's notes. Justin needs your honest feedback, so he can say, “Survey says: …” Please check out the links in this episode's notes! [1:45] On September 14th, the Spencer Educational Foundation returns to New York City for its Annual Funding Their Future Gala. The event will be held at the Cipriani on 42nd Street. A link is on this episode's notes. You can also visit SpencerEd.org. [2:01] The RIMS Western Regional Conference will be held October 4th–6th in Vail, Colorado. Visit RIMSWesternRegional.com for more information and to register. [2:14] Head to the RIMS.org/Advocacy page to find information about The RIMS Legislative Summit, which is returning to Washington, D.C. on October 25th and 26th. [2:27] We are very excited about the RIMS ERM Conference 2023, which will be held November 2nd and 3rd in Denver, Colorado! The theme is Elevate and Evolve. The Conference will be different than years past with some great changes; book your travel plans now! Visit the Events page of RIMS.org or the links in this episode's notes. [2:55] RIMS has several key items that need to be addressed by the U.S. Government to protect the interests of the risk profession. These topics include cybersecurity, terrorism, and floods. [3:08] Here to discuss these critical topics are RIMS External Affairs Committee Chair, Lynn Haley Pilarksy and RIMS General Counsel and VP of External Affairs, Mark Prysock. We will discuss how these topics will play a huge role when RIMS returns to Capitol Hill during the RIMS Legislative Summit on October 25th and 26th. [3:29] Lynn Haley Pilarksy and Mark Prysock, welcome back to RIMScast! [4:15] Lynn Haley Pilarksy is Counsel, Risk Management Insurance for General Motors, and the LTM Sales Risk Manager. She is President of RIMS Detroit and the Chair of the RIMS Public Policy Committee. She'll sleep after her renewals are done! [4:57] Mark Prysock is the General Counsel and Vice President of Public Policy at RIMS. His responsibilities include staffing the Public Policy Committee, which oversees RIMS' legislative efforts; also staffing the RISK PAC Trustees Committee. [6:07] Mark believes we are heading toward a government funding crisis. If the government shuts down, the National Flood Insurance Program will temporarily not be funded. RIMS is a big supporter of the NFIP program, and it is hanging in the balance. [8:57] Lynn agrees on the importance of the NFIP, given recent hurricanes. RISK PAC is well-received when they speak to Congress on the NFIP. Congress understands the importance of having the NFIP in place. It's critical for people who live, work, and have property in flood zones. It's a good conversation for RISK PAC to have in Congress. [9:55] RISK PAC also always tries to talk about how NFIP coverages can be improved and enhanced and the legislation around them should be changed. Can we improve mapping? Some of the NFIP maps are from the 1960s. Topographies change over time so it's important to have these systems updated so the risks are reflected accurately. [10:40] Lynn says RISK PAC also talks to Congress about reinsurance and if the government can have some policies on expanding the role of reinsurance. Congress supports the NFIP but it's tied to the government funding. RISK PAC is asking to get the NFIP reauthorized as part of the upcoming funding bill. [11:26] Mark comments on the Republican strategy of presenting separate funding bills instead of an all-or-nothing omnibus bill. They want to look at programs individually and identify places where funding can be cut. There is a series of 12 House bills in process. [13:06] Mark says data privacy is another 2023 RIMS priority. There are a lot of industries and association groups engaged in the issue of data privacy. RIMS plays an important role in the discussion of creating a national data privacy standard rather than state-specific standards which are problematic for companies in multiple jurisdictions. [14:54] Lynn notes that the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act (PRIA)  was top-of-mind during the past two years. There is no broad legislative support for it now. RIMS still follows it and is part of a business coalition supporting it but is not presently advocating for it. [15:54] These priorities will be mirrored at the RIMS Legislative Summit, which will be back on the Hill on October 25th and 26th, 2023. Mark and Lynn will both be there. [16:15] Lynn's favorite thing to talk about is RIMS member involvement in the RIMS Legislative Summit and legislative activism. The Legislative Summit is the best way for risk managers and others in the risk community to speak directly to members of Congress and their staffs about issues important to the risk profession. [16:52] Lynn calls the Legislative Summit an incredible event. She invites anyone with an interest in advocacy to attend in October. In Lynn's opinion, it is the most rewarding thing that you can do as a risk professional. She is very enthusiastic about it! You meet with staffers, and they are the eyes and ears of the members of Congress. [18:28] RIMS plug time! Sponsor an episode of RIMScast! Contact us at pd@rims.org. For upcoming virtual workshops visit RIMS.org/virtualworkshops for the calendar.  Fundamentals of Insurance is a two-day virtual workshop hosted by Elise Farnham, September 12th–13th. [19:11] Managing Data for ERM is a three-module course that begins September 21st. [19:18] Optimizing Risk Management with Artificial Intelligence will be led on September 28th by Pat Saporito. Recent RIMScast guest Chris Hansen will be leading Managing Worker Compensation, Employer's Liability, and Employment Practices in the US on November 7th and 8th. Be sure to register for that course! [19:50] Information about these sessions and others is on the RIMS Virtual Workshops page. Check it out and register! [19:59] For anyone attending RIMS Canada on September 10th and 11th, we will host an in-person RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep In-Person Workshop in Ottawa, and it will be led by former RIMS President Chris Mandel. The next virtual CRMP workshop will be September 26th and 27th and it will be led by Joseph Milan. [20:27] Visit RIMS.org/Certification for these and future workshops. A link is also in this episode's show notes, as is a link to the full Virtual Workshop calendar. [20:39] There is a new RIMS webinar called A Decade of Disconnect: Understanding Multi-Generational Mental Health in the Workplace. It is sponsored by Travelers and Constitution State Services on September 7th, 2023 at 12:00 noon Eastern. [21:06] On September 12th, our friends at TÜV SÜD GRC are back with Seeing the Unseen: nVent's Proactive Approach to Fire Risk Detection With Infrared Imaging On September 26th, Gallagher returns to present A Road Less Challenged? An Outlook on the Management Liability Market at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. [21:28] Visit RIMS.org/Webinars to learn more about these webinars and to register! Links are on the show notes. Webinar registration is complimentary for RIMS members. [21:55] The RIMS Legislative Summit is open to RIMS members who are based in, or who have operations in, the U.S. Lynn speaks about advocacy ambassadors from RIMS chapters and meetings for them. If your chapter doesn't have an advocacy ambassador, is there a rising young member or student you can sponsor? It's a learning opportunity. [24:42] Mark is on the RIMS Legislative Summit agenda. He is going to help people feel comfortable when they go to the Hill to meet with members of Congress and their staff. Wednesday, October 25th is going to be RIMS Education Day, with panels such as key points of our legislative issues to lobby, and a mixed Congressional Staff panel. [26:07] The U.S. Treasury has asked if they could send a panel from the Federal Insurance Office to talk about initiatives they've been working on. There will be a panel on the insurance industry perspective on what's happening in D.C. right now. [26:49] RIMS is now in the The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), on their Advocacy Council. They work to identify issues that impact the association community. The Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow's Workforce Act would liberalize the use of 529 College Savings Funds for certification and credentialing programs. [27:41] That use could be hugely beneficial to risk managers in particular. RIMS has a CRMP certification. If the 529 rules were liberalized, it would benefit RIMS members. Mary Kate Cunningham, the VP of Public Policy at ASAE, will speak about that legislation at the Summit. [28:31] Wednesday evening there will be the reception and dinner, with Keynote Speaker John E. Sununu, a member of the Sununu clan in New Hampshire. John E. Sununu is a former member of the House of Representatives and a former Senator. His brother is the governor of New Hampshire. His father served in the Bush administration. [29:50] Thursday is Lobby Day. All attendees will take talking points of key legislative issues to the Hill. They will meet with Congressional staff. It is better to meet with the right staffer than with a member, as the staff wants to hear from constituents affected by the legislation, and they have a better grasp on the legislation than the members do. [31:33] Lynn tells about her first Education Day. The panels and the educational topics will get you ready for a day of lobbying Congress on legislative issues. You will understand what the issues are. You will have handouts to study for your session and leave behind to give the staffers. When you're done, you will feel very empowered. [33:09] Justin tells how great his first Summit experience was, in 2018. [33:48] Mark says this Education Day will be taking place at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce building. It is a beautiful, iconic building. [34:43] Lynn's parting thought: Bring comfortable shoes! Be prepared to walk! This isn't a place to wear new shoes! [35:09] Mark's parting thought: If you haven't been to the Legislative Summit, and you're not sure you'll be comfortable in the role of a lobbyist for RIMS, I want to assure you that you are the person that the Congressional staffers want to talk to. They want to hear from constituents who are being directly impacted by the issues they're discussing. [35:58] The link to register is RIMS Legislative Summit and in the episode's show notes. Remember to visit RIMS.org/Advocacy. Justin thanks Mark and Lynn for rejoining us here on RIMScast, to share their perspective. [36:28] Special thanks again to Mark Prysock and Lynn Haley Pilarsky. Register for the RIMS Legislative Summit on October 25th and 26th in Washington D.C. The agenda is available now. Go to RIMS.org/Advocacy and there you can learn more about our advocacy efforts, including details on the RISK PAC. [36:37] Go to the App Store on your phone and download the RIMS App. This is a special members-only benefit. Everybody loves the RIMS app! [37:06] You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. Links to sponsored episodes are in our show notes. RIMScast has a global audience of risk professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let's collaborate! Contact pd@rims.org for more information. [37:48] Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information. The RIMS app is available only for RIMS members! You can find it in the App Store. [38:12] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today's risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more. [38:28] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com and in print, and check out the blog at RiskManagementMonitor.com. Justin Smulison is Business Content Manager. You can email Justin at Content@RIMS.org. [38:49] Justin thanks you for your continued support and engagement on social media channels! We appreciate all your kind words. Listen every week! Stay safe!   Mentioned in this Episode: NEW FOR MEMBERS! RIMS Mobile App RIMS Legislative Summit – Oct 25 & 26, Washington, D.C. RIMS Advocacy RIMS Canada 2023 — Sept. 11–14 in Ottawa! RIMS Canada 2023 — Game Show Survey! Participate today! RIMS ERM Conference 2023 | Nov 2–3 in Denver, CO! Nominate a practitioner or risk group for the ERM Award of Distinction! Spencer Educational Foundation — Funding Their Future Gala — Sept. 14, 2023 RIMS Western Regional — Oct 4–6, Vail Colorado RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) Dan Kugler Risk Manager on Campus Grant RIMS Webinars: A Decade of Disconnect: Understanding Multi-Generational Mental Health in the Workplace | Sponsored by Travelers | Sept. 7, 2023 Seeing the Unseen: nVent's Proactive Approach to Fire Risk Detection With Infrared Imaging | Sponsored by TÜV SÜD GRC | Sept. 12, 2023 A Road Less Challenged? An Outlook on the Management Liability Market | Sponsored by Gallagher | Sept. 26, 2023 RIMS.org/Webinars Upcoming Virtual Workshops: Fundamentals of Insurance | Sept 12–13 Optimizing Risk Management with AI | Sept. 28 Managing Worker Compensation, Employer's Liability and Employment Practices in the US | Nov 7 See the full calendar of RIMS Virtual WorkshopsUpcoming Virtual Workshops: Fundamentals of Insurance | Sept 12–13 Optimizing Risk Management with AI | Sept. 28 Managing Worker Compensation, Employer's Liability and Employment Practices in the US | Nov 7 See the full calendar of RIMS Virtual Workshops RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep at RIMS Canada 2023September 10–11, 2023 9:00 am–4:00 pm EDT Ottawa, ON, Canada All RIMS-CRMP Prep WorkshopsRelated RIMScast Episodes: Public Policy Goals with CIAB President Joel Wood (2023) Keeping Up With RISKPAC (2022) Sponsored RIMScast Episodes: “Subrogation and the Competitive Advantage” | Sponsored by Fleet Response (New!) “Cyberrisk Outlook 2023” | Sponsored by Alliant (New!) “Chemical Industry: How To Succeed Amid Emerging Risks and a Challenging Market” | Sponsored by TÜV SÜD “Insuring the Future of the Environment” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Insights into the Gig Economy and its Contractors” | Sponsored by Zurich “The Importance of Disaster Planning Relationships” | Sponsored by ServiceMaster “Technology, Media and Telecom Solutions in 2023” | Sponsored by Allianz “Analytics in Action” | Sponsored by Alliant “Captive Market Outlook and Industry Insights” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Using M&A Insurance: The How and Why” | Sponsored by Prudent Insurance Brokers Ltd. “Zurich's Construction Sustainability Outlook for 2023” “Aon's 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season Overview” “ESG Through the Risk Lens” | Sponsored by Riskonnect “A Look at the Cyber Insurance Market” | Sponsored by AXA XL “How to Reduce Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Risks” | Sponsored by TÜV SÜD “Managing Global Geopolitical Risk in 2022 and Beyond” | Sponsored by AXA XL RIMS Publications, Content, and Links: RIMS Membership — Whether you are a new member or need to transition, be a part of the global risk management community! RIMS Virtual Workshops On-Demand Webinars Risk Management Magazine Risk Management Monitor RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) RIMS-CRMP Stories — New interview featuring Roland Teo! Spencer Educational Foundation RIMS DEI Council RIMS Path to the Boardroom RIMS Events, Education, and Services: RIMS Risk Maturity Model® RIMS Events App Apple | Google Play RIMS Buyers Guide Sponsor RIMScast: Contact sales@rims.org or pd@rims.org for more information.   Want to Learn More? Keep up with the podcast on RIMS.org and listen on Apple Podcasts. Have a question or suggestion? Email: Content@rims.org.   Join the Conversation! Follow @RIMSorg on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.   About our guest, Lynn Haley Pilarski Lynn Haley Pilarski, Senior Manager, General Motors Corporate Risk Management & Insurance. Lynn joined General Motors in 1998. Currently, Lynn is the GM Global Contract Manager responsible for drafting insurance terms and conditions for all commercial contracts. Lynn also manages the placement and administration of management liability programs and associated claims activities. Prior to joining GM, Lynn practiced law in the area of insurance and product liability. Lynn received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Michigan State University and a Juris Doctorate from Michigan State University - Detroit College of Law. Lynn also holds an ARM and CPCU from the American Institute for Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters. Lynn is currently the President of RIMS Detroit and the Chair of the RIMS External Affairs Committee. Lynn is the 2021 recipient of the Richard W. Bland Memorial Award which recognizes a RIMS member's commitment to the insurance industry's legislative or regulatory interests. Lynn is a frequent speaker at Risk Management events.   About our guest, Mark Prysock   Mark Prysock has 15 years of experience serving as in-house counsel for professional associations in Washington, DC, and New York. His specialties are Corporate governance, employment matters, contract drafting, and negotiation.   Tweetables (For Social Media Use):   “The most significant political development in D.C. is the looming possibility of a government shutdown. … If that happens and a Continuing Resolution … is not passed, then … the National Flood Insurance Program will temporarily not be funded.” — Mark Prysock   “When we do go and speak to the Members of Congress and their staffers, generally [the National Flood Insurance Progam] is a well-received topic. People definitely understand the importance of having the NFIP in place.” — Lynn Haley Pilarski   “I think data privacy is an issue. … RIMS is really looking for sort of a place to play in that field or that issue. There are a lot of different industries and association groups that are engaged on data privacy.” — Mark Prysock   “After listening to the panel and spending the day in the educational topics, I was ready. The full day will prepare you so that you understand what the issues are. … You will feel very comfortable when you go..” — Lynn Haley Pilarski  

Traditionally, FHA loans, which are insured by the Federal Housing Administration, have required borrowers to obtain flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP is a federal program managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).Private flood insurance refers to flood insurance coverage provided by private insurance companies as an alternative to the NFIP. Historically, private flood insurance options have been limited, and FHA loans generally required NFIP coverage.Now you are able to obtain Flood insurance thru the Private sector for FHA loans, previously you could have gotten quotes that were way higher and prevented a sale from happening. That has now all changed.tune in and learn more at https://www.ddamortgage.com/blogDidier Malagies nmls#212566DDA Mortgage nmls324329#mortgage Support the show

Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   Joel Wood joins RIMScast to discuss the shared goals of RIMS and CIAB in 2023 in the way of cyber, NFIP, and other major risk management issues. Though many of these issues are non-partisan, he provides a pragmatic view of how much progress might be made with such a divided Congress. Joel shares his hopes for the House and the Senate to work together on important data security legislation. Joel expresses his appreciation for RIMS, as a pure voice for insureds, and how CIAB and RIMS come together for many objectives and goals.   We also hear about his career and some of the members of Congress and DC players who may prove to be valuable allies for RIMS and CIAB.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMScast. [:27] About today's episode with Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB) President Joel Wood. [:37] All about upcoming RIMS webinars, and more! [1:10] The RIMS Canada Conference 2023 has been announced for September 11th‒14th in Ottowa! Visit RIMSCanadaConference.ca for more information. [1:27] The RIMS Legislative Summit will be held October 25th and 26th in Washington, D.C. For information, visit the link in the show notes. [1:43] The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers is a prominent ally of RIMS. [1:57] Joel Wood became president of CIAB in January 2023 and is well-known in the risk and insurance community, having lobbied on behalf of CIAB for thirty years. [2:08] Justin recorded this interview with CIAB President Joel Wood prior to RISKWORLD. They discussed RIMS's and CIAB's common goals and visions for 2023. [2:31] Justin welcomes Joel Wood to RIMScast. [2:37] Joel Wood is President of CIAB after 30 years of lobbying for the organization. [3:07] Joel went to Washington 40 years ago to work for a member of Congress from his hometown and after five-and-a-half years, he went to an insurance trade group. Joel joined CIAB 30 years ago. CIAB has about 185 members, responsible for over 90% of premiums placed in the commercial property/casualty insurance market nationally. [4:05] CIAB members have a good chunk of premiums on the health benefits side, also, including two-thirds of all employer-sponsored group health insurance plans. [4:30] All CIAB firms do business in all 50 states; most do international business. There is a commonality of interests among them. Joel talks of the extraordinary M&A environment over the last several years. CIAB has benefitted overall from M&A. [5:35] The member of Congress Joel worked for was Don Sundquist, who later served for eight years as Governor of Tennessee. Joel talks about working for him. [6:44] CIAB goes back 115 years. They host a premier event in the international commercial business insurance marketplace, at the Broadmoor, for brokers, carriers, and reinsurers to make connections. For most CIAB members, though, the one meeting that matches or surpasses it is the annual RIMS meeting. [7:30] The relationship between CIAB and RIMS is extremely strong. Joel lists the threat of hard markets, shrinking capacity, inflation, and the rise of uninsurable events, in the eyes of the carriers. Joel comments on the chances of getting legislation passed by the divided government on Capitol Hill. [9:34] Joel sees the most room for bipartisanship this year on data privacy legislation. Everyone in the insurance ecosystem shares frustration with 50 different standards on anything to do with data privacy. Joel explains his hope for the House and Senate to work together on data privacy legislation. [11:33] A stretch goal is to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and enforce transparency for the PBM marketplace. Joel finds two-thirds of member firms spend two-thirds of their time on the benefits side, fighting existential threats, instead of on the property & casualty side, where two-thirds of their revenue is. [12:42] PBMs have declared that the 2020 legislation requiring brokers to prospectively report all of their compensation from ERISA plans does not apply to them. Joel hopes the Senate will look closely at that. [13:57] In property & casualty, Joel would like to see 2023 legislation on flood insurance. It's going to take a dedicated Senate Banking Committee to make it happen. [11:41] RIMS plug time! Sponsor a weekly or dedicated episode of RIMScast! Contact us at pd@rims.org. RIMS Fundamentals of Risk Data, Analytics and AI virtual workshop is coming up on June 15! It's a course for the RIMS Fundamentals of Risk Data Analytics and AI certificate on completion! See the link. To support education visit SpencerEd.org. [13:45] CSA Group is the Canadian Standards Association. They are a leader in developing standards to make the world safer and in testing, inspecting, and certifying products to make sure that the products that get into the marketplace are safe. They have global operations. [16:20] About the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Joel has never heard anyone say they were happy with it. He would like to see more private solutions and private markets in the flood arena. We went a long stretch in a soft commercial marketplace. These are difficult issues. [18:17] Justin and Joel share reminiscences about former Congress member, Dennis Ross. Joel would like to see him come back to lobby for risk retention insurance issues. [19:20] The biggest and perhaps smartest champion of the insurance industry in the Senate is Senator Tim Scott a former Allstate executive and agency owner. In the House, Blaine Luetkemeyer has a strong industry background. Newer House members Monica De La Cruz, Anthony Garbarino, and Byron Donalds have industry experience. [22:43] Anthony Garbarino chairs the cybersecurity subcommittee. He may be an ally on data privacy. A lot of carriers call cyber marketplace security breaches uninsurable events. [23:48] Justin thanks Joel for being on RIMScast. Joel appreciates the opportunity and is grateful for the relationships between CIAB and RIMS and their similarities on many issues. [24:54] Justin says a “special thanks to Joel Wood, the President of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB).” See the links to CIAB. The RIMS Legislative Summit will be held October 23rd through the 26th in Washington, D.C. A link is on this episode's notes. There is also a link to RISK PAC coverage with Gregory McKenna. [25:30] Sponsor a RIMScast episode to reach a global audience! Justin shares other RIMS offers, including a transitional membership!   Mentioned in this Episode: RIMS Legislative Summit — October 25‒26 in Washington DC! RIMS Advocacy RISK PAC RIMS Canada 2023 — Sept. 11‒14 in Ottawa! Spencer Educational Foundation — Risk Manager on Campus Spencer Funding Their Future Gala — Sept 14 in NYC! Contribute to Risk Management Magazine RIMS Diversity Equity & Inclusion page Upcoming Webinars: The Top 10 Must-Have Reports for GRC and InfoSec Leaders | Sponsored by Resolver | June 8, 2023 Large-Scale Risk: How Walmart Manages the Risks Unique to Large and Growing Companies | Sponsored by Riskonnect | June 22, 2023 Upcoming Virtual Workshops: RIMS Fundamentals of Risk Data, Analytics and AI | June 15, 2023 | 10:00 am‒2:00 pm ET  | Registration Closes June 14 | Enroll Now Risk Appetite Management | July 12‒13 See the full calendar of RIMS Virtual Workshops Related RIMScast Episodes: “Strategic Moves with RIMS CEO Gary LaBranche” “RIMS President Jennifer Santiago: R.E.A.D.Y. for 2023” “RIMS Advocacy — See You In September” (2022) “Keeping Up With RISKPAC” (2022) Sponsored RIMScast Episodes: “Insights into the Gig Economy and its Contractors” | Sponsored by Zurich (NEW!) “The Importance of Disaster Planning Relationships” | Sponsored by ServiceMaster “Technology, Media and Telecom Solutions in 2023” | Sponsored by Allianz “Analytics in Action” | Sponsored by Alliant “Captive Market Outlook and Industry Insights” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Using M&A Insurance: The How and Why” | Sponsored by Prudent Insurance Brokers Ltd.  “Zurich's Construction Sustainability Outlook for 2023” “Aon's 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season Overview” “ESG Through the Risk Lens” | Sponsored by Riskonnect “A Look at the Cyber Insurance Market” | Sponsored by AXA XL “How to Reduce Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Risks” | Sponsored by TÜV SÜD “Managing Global Geopolitical Risk in 2022 and Beyond” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Keeping Subcontractors Safe Through Partner Elevation” | Sponsored by Highwire “ESG: A Responsibility and a Growing Megatrend” | Sponsored by Prudent Insurance Brokers Ltd. “Prioritizing People: Focusing on Your Team to Deliver Exceptional Quality and Service to Your Clients” | Sponsored by Gallagher Bassett “Bermuda Opportunities in 2022 with BDA Chair Stephen Weinstein” | Sponsored by Bermuda Business Development Agency “SyncR: A Tool to Enhance Your Risk Quality & Insurance Strategy” | Sponsored by Prudent Insurance Brokers Ltd. “RIMScast: Navigating the Risk Landscape in 2022” | Sponsored by AXA XL “RIMScast: Prioritizing People: Expertise and Innovation” | Sponsored by Gallagher Bassett “RIMScast: Risk Findings for the Industrial & Manufacturing Industry” | Sponsored by Aon RIMS Publications, Content, and Links: RIMS Membership — Whether you are a new member or need to transition, be a part of the global risk management community! RIMS Virtual Workshops On-Demand Webinars Risk Management Magazine Risk Management Monitor RIMS Risk Leaders Series RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) RIMS-CRMP Stories — New interview featuring Broward County RIMS President Stacey Nielsen! Spencer Educational Foundation RIMS DEI Council RIMS Path to the Boardroom RIMS Events, Education, and Services: RIMS Risk Maturity Model® RIMS Events App Apple | Google Play NEW FOR MEMBERS! RIMS Mobile App RIMS Buyers Guide Dan Kugler Risk Manager on Campus Grant Sponsor RIMScast: Contact sales@rims.org or pd@rims.org for more information.   Want to Learn More? Keep up with the podcast on RIMS.org and listen on iTunes. Have a question or suggestion? Email: Content@rims.org.   Join the Conversation! Follow @RIMSorg on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.   Follow up with Our Guests:   Guest: Joel Wood President, Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB)   Tweetables (For Social Media Use):   “I came to Washington 40 years ago, to work for a member of Congress from my hometown of Memphis. And so, I worked for him for five-and-a-half years. … I went off to a different insurance trade group and have been with CIAB for 30 years.” — Joel Wood   “The benefit that RIMS brings to the public policy arena is that, more purely than any other organization, RIMS members represent the voice of the insurance customer.” — Joel Wood   “I'm very circumspect about what can get done with divided government on Capitol Hill, with the narrowest possible Republican majority, and a very slim Democratic majority in the Senate, with a Democratic president, in an environment that is politically toxic.” — Joel Wood   “ We went a long stretch in a soft commercial marketplace.” — Joel Wood    

In the May edition of WaterLog podcast, Dan and Howard provide a brief overview of the proposed coastal earmarks in the FY24 appropriations bill, discuss the latest developments in Congress regarding offshore wind revenues, beach nourishment, and a disappointing jobs report in the offshore wind industry. Additionally, they discuss the concerning issue of FEMA and the NFIP running out of funds and the upcoming Water Resources Development Act of 2024.

Is climate change creating a real estate bubble we shouldn't ignore? And who's going to get hurt if that bubble bursts? Yale's Climate Connections newsletter just reported on a study that claims there's a massive bubble forming because property values don't include climate risks like flooding and wildfires. The 2023 Nature Climate Change study also suggests six ways to reduce this risk and potentially keep this bubble from bursting. (1)   Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. Please remember to subscribe to this podcast and leave us a review.   Although climate change skeptics may feel we are experiencing normal weather patterns, many people are concerned that severe weather events are increasing in number and intensity. We've been seeing increased storm-related flooding in some areas and more drought-related wildfires in others. Some inland areas are also dealing with water scarcity and extreme heat while coastal areas are faced with the threat of rising sea levels.   The “Brittleness Bubble”   The Yale newsletter cited climate futurist Alex Steffen for his definition of the so-called “Brittleness Bubble.” Steffen says: “As awareness of risk grows, the financial value of risky places drops. Where meeting that risk is more expensive than decision-makers think a place is worth, it simply won't be defended. It will be abandoned.” He says: “That will then create more problems. Bonds for big projects, loans and mortgages, business investment, insurance, talented workers – all will grow more scarce. Then, values will crash.”   Overvaluation of Homes   The Nature Climate Change study pegged the overvaluation of U.S. homes in flood zones at around $200 billion, but a study done last year by consulting firm Milliman had a much higher number. In the Milliman study, researchers calculated the overvaluation at more like $500 billion.   These figures apply to flood risk, and don't account for the impact of other weather-related risks like wildfires. California is suffering the impact of highly destructive wildfires that have been increasing in number and intensity. And that's pushing up insurance rates, making it unaffordable for many people to rebuild or buy homes in high-risk areas. The Southwest has also been dealing with a long-time drought although recent winter rains have helped to replenish reservoirs. But water scarcity and extreme heat are a growing problem in many areas.   Reducing the Risk   The report goes on to list six ways to help prevent this bubble from bursting, which I will briefly share with you.   1 - The first is to require sellers to fully disclose flood risks. The study says that, in general, properties that are highly overvalued are in coastal counties which often don't require flood-risk disclosures. Some property listing websites will show you this info however, such as Redfin and Realtor.com. Floodfactor.com also provides property-specific risk ratings.   2 - The second suggestion is to raise awareness about climate change which might lead to policy changes about development in risky areas. This will likely happen as more people suffer the impact and media attention grows.    3 - Third on the list of suggestions is to charge market-based insurance rates instead of subsidized rates provided by the National Flood Insurance Program. The NFIP has issued new risk ratings called Risk Rating 2.0. That has brought insurance costs closer to what they need to be, but it's a slow-going process because there are yearly rate-hike caps.   4 - The fourth suggestion is to reduce federal subsidies for properties in risky areas.  These subsidies come in the form of supplemental disaster relief with no requirements for long-term flood-risk strategies. The study authors say it's a complex issue that will take a lot of effort to tackle because there isn't much political support or funding to get this done.   5 - Fifth on the list of actions to address the so-called climate change housing bubble is a revamping of FEMA and the creation of a National Disaster Safety Board. The report says that FEMA is “underfunded, understaffed, and has minimal authority to do what it needs to do.” A National Disaster Safety Board could help implement policy changes.   6 - Last but not least, the report suggests that we should work toward a retreat policy that would help people move from areas that have suffered multiple climate-related disasters. The strategy would be to provide affordable housing for these people which may sound like a “big ask” at a time when the nation is suffering from a huge lack of affordable housing.   When Will the Bubble Burst?   So when will all this become critical?   The Yale article cites a NOAA prediction, that the average sea level rise by 2050 will be 10 to 14 inches for the East Coast, 14 to 18 inches for the Gulf Coast, and four to eight inches for the West Coast. It says a “rapid rise” will happen after that and claims that we'll see a rise of four to seven feet by 2100 as compared to the year 2000.   The study can't predict when we might see a sudden disruption because so much depends on politics, the economy, and basic human behavior. It says we might see a period of increased risk in the mid-2030s because of a “wobble in the moon's orbit.” It's something that happens every 18.6 years and usually causes unusually high tides along the Southern and Western coastlines.   If you own property in a high risk area, this topic is something that may command more of your attention. And if you're looking to buy a new property, be sure to check on the climate risks and factor that into your decision. As I mentioned, Redfin and Realtor.com both provide environmental risk factors on their property listing pages. You can also find more detailed information at floodfactor.com.   If you want to read more about this study, you'll find a link to the Yale article at newsforinvestors.com. You can also join RealWealth for free if you'd like more information on how to navigate the housing market right now and find rental property that makes sense for your portfolio. And please remember to subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review!   Thank you! And thanks for listening, Kathy   Links:   1 - https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2023/04/bubble-trouble-climate-change-is-creating-a-huge-and-growing-u-s-real-estate-bubble/

In this episode of the podcast, we look at the claims variable with the National Flood Insurance Program. We look at how this can benefit property owners, real estate agents, lenders, and insurance agents.You can find the video and blog in our learning center by clicking hereReady to purchase the right flood insurance coverage click here

New research from AM Best shows private carriers increased their total flood insurance by more than 40% in 2021, said AM Best Senior Industry Analyst Christopher Graham and Associate Director David Blades.

As we wrap up this season, we are bringing back four of our favorite guests to get an update on what happened in 2022 and their outlook on the year ahead.Find full episodes with these guests in our podcast archive here: https://clgx.co/3zqhBZtCheck out NFIP Risk Rating 2.0 video vignettes here.In this episode:1:25 - Catch up with Tom Larsen about natural catastrophes in 20225:32 – Hear from Scott Giberson for the latest on the NFIP's Risk Rating 2.012:31 - Garret Gray returns to talk about where the insurance industry is headed17:22 – Get an update from Selma Hepp about the U.S. Economy. *This portion of the episode was recorded at the beginning of Q4.

It's midterm election time and we are looking t who should get your vote. Is it the National Flood Insurance Program or private flood Insurance?We look coverages availableWe look at risk rating 2.0Policies being non renewedClaims processReady to take the next steps to get the right flood insurance click hereYou can also visit the flood learning center here

Christy's Questions:If there's an event like a hurricane, and 50 IA firms are calling / emailing… what do I do? Are the IA firms that I turn down going to be mad and take me off their roster?As a new IA should I go ahead and take an hourly position during an event?New IAs agreeing to lower pay seems like a huge point of contention with the seasoned IAs. Doesn't it wind up drag down everyone's pay?If I am working daily claims, and a storm hits, how do I shut off new claims and tell the IA firm I've been running dailies for “sorry gotta go!” Will they ever give me dailies again?How do I know which IA firm to focus on? They all talk a good game… how does a new IA avoid the pitfalls and traps of dealing with shady IA firms?  Considering all of a CAT Field IA's daily expenses while on site, does a remote adjuster end up making (and keeping) just as much income as a Field IA?Would it be a smart move as a new IA, to forget about Field at the very beginning and focus on Desk? It seems to me a new IA could learn a hell of a lot of X1 experience by looking over other Field X1 work and learn what both a good file looks like and a bad file looks like, then take that info out in the Field in 6-8 months.Was it a waste of time for me to get certification after certification after certification? Do IA firms really even look at any of that?As a brand spanking new IA, with so many other things to learn, would it make sense for me to put in the time, take the NFIP classes, and get my NFIP Mentorship going now?Thank you for being an AdjusterTV Radio listener! Please visit adjustertvplus.com and use coupon code PODCAST for a free month of the best new adjuster training videos. New videos arrive every month!

In this episode of the podcast, we are looking at risk rating 2.0 one year laterWe look at ratings with the National Flood Insurance ProgramWe look at the number of policies with the National Flood Insurance ProgramWe look at risk rating 2.0 impact on hurricane Ian victimsLooking to get your flood insurance questions answered? Visit the flood learning center hereWant to discover the right flood insurance click here to get your quote

Join our host, Katie Gurnett, as she sis down with Paul Huang, the Acting Associate Administrator for the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA), and Brock Long, the former Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Hagerty Consulting's Executive Chairman, to discuss the role of NFIP and FEMA in flood insurance, mitigation, and financial resiliency. What is the NFIP and FEMA doing to help people when that "100 year flood" strikes? What does the future hold for the program, the agency, and for each of you? Featuring: Paul Huang, Acting Associate Administrator, Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration Brock Long, Executive Chairman, Hagerty Consulting, and former Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency Hosted by: Katie Gurnett, Compliance Manager, Government & Industry, Physicians Mutual

On the July episode of the WaterLog podcast, Howard and Dan discuss legislative proposals to reform the National Flood Insurance Program, the status of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022, and FY23 Energy & Water Appropriations.

Episode 513: A new national estimate of insurance fraud losses shows an amazing $308.6 billion stolen every year, according to data from the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.  On Today's Unscripted, the Coalition's Executive Director Matthew Smith discusses steps insurance companies can take to lessen their vulnerability to fraud.

Episode 511: Just in time for Hurricane Season, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a new law to reform and stabilize the insurance marketplace.  Plus, New England Asset Management's Robb Barnum discusses the basics of ESG labeled bonds and their effect on the resilience of insurance companies.

Flooding continues to be the most expensive and the most common natural disaster in the United States, resulting in billions in economic losses every year. According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), 90% percent of all U.S. natural disasters involve flooding.In October 2021, the NFIP implemented its Risk Rating 2.0 program, one of the most significant changes from a rate modeling and underwriting standpoint in more than 50 years. In the past, FEMA flood zones and rates were much more generalized. However, the NFIP is striving to implement advanced technology and geocoding to more accurately rate flood risks. While these changes are vital to keeping the NFIP afloat, significant premium increases are coming because many policies have been severely underpriced for years. As the NFIP continues to evolve, retail agents face a prime opportunity to protect clients against the economic impact of flood damage with private insurance options.Featuring:Ben Tschepikow is a Broker with Argenia, a CRC Group Company located in Little Rock, AR, and is a member of the Personal Lines Practice Advisory Committee.Youtube | Tools & Intel | LinkedInJoin #TeamCRC, email resumes@crcgroup.com

With each passing day, there’s a little more light at the beginning and end of the period in which the sun illuminates our portion of the world. There are 36 days until the time when light and dark is more or less equal. What will happen between now and then? Charlottesville Community Engagement aims to tell you as much as possible. I’m your host, Sean Tubbs. It’s free to sign up and get all of the content! On today’s program:Legislation to make mask mandates meaningless in schools is poised to pass the Virginia General AssemblyAlbemarle County is briefed on the potential threat of the Spotted LanternflyCharlottesville City Council is briefed on how floodplains are classified, and then votes to approve a rezoning on Nassau Street to allow more residential density And Charlottesville Economic Development continues tracking retail vacancies across the city Shout-out to Camp AlbemarleToday’s first subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting http://campalbemarleva.org/donate.Pandemic update As the weekend begins, the waning continues. Yesterday the Virginia Department of Health reported a percent positivity of 13.7 percent, down from 23.2 percent eight days earlier. On January 11, that figure was 36 percent. “We are now in a period of time where we are seeing the highest cases of COVID beginning to come down,” said Dr. Kyle Enfield of the University of Virginia Health System. “And these are the highest cases we’ve ever seen, including among our children. And unfortunately some of these children have had long term outcomes that have been related to COVID as well as deaths.” In Virginia, there have been eight deaths in people under the age of 10, and 10 deaths of people under the age of 20. There have been 131,327 reported COVID cases in people under the age of 10, and 204,234 under the age of 20. “And we do know that masking and vaccines have been our best defense at preventing more spread of COVID during all of the pandemic,” Dr. Enfield said. This week, the Virginia Senate passed a bill on a 21-17 vote that would prohibit localities from requiring students to wear a mask in school. The same bill (SB739) was reported out of the House Education Committee on Friday on a 12 to 10 vote. Here’s what it says:“The parent of any child enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school, or in any school-based early childhood care and education program, may elect for such child to not wear a mask while on school property,” reads the bill.Dr. Enfield said that may be premature from a public health perspective. “While I’m very hopeful for a future where we can stop wearing masks as part of our daily lives, I don’t think the time is there yet,” Dr. Enfield said.People who are not vaccinated contract COVID at a rate 4.6 percent more than those who have had their shots, according to the latest data from the Virginia Department of Health. Partially vaccinated people contract at a rate two times higher. Those trends show up close to home, too. “The most salient thing I think people should take away is that the people that we see in the [intensive care unit] right now, which is about a third of our cases, only one of them was vaccinated and boosted and that person is immunocompromised,” Dr. Enfield said. “I think that speaks to the importance of vaccinations ongoing in preventing serious illness.”Visit the Blue Ridge Health District’s website for information about getting vaccinated.Charlottesville  vacancy studyThe city of Charlottesville has completed its latest analysis of commercial property and has found a vacancy rate of 5.23 percent. That’s up slightly from July when the last report from the Charlottesville Office of Economic Development was compiled. “The retail property in the City of Charlottesville is showing slight signs of rebounding from the negative impacts felt since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, “ reads the report. Barracks Road Shopping Center has a vacancy rate of 9.3 percent and the Downtown Mall has increased to 3.7 percent since July. The Corner is at 3.28 percent, Seminole Square is at 12.96 percent. Both Preston Plaza and McIntire Place are both full. The peak vacancy of 9 percent on the Downtown Mall was recorded in July 2009 and January 2010 at the height of the last recession. Notable vacancies include the spaces that formerly housed Bashir’s Taverna and Fellini’s. Since the last study last summer, new stores on the way include a new location for Bebedero in the former Downtown Grille space. A restaurant called Botanical Fare will occupy the former Java Java space. Read the report for more details. Nassau Street rezoning yields four additional unitsCharlottesville City Council has taken action on a rezoning on the eastern edge of Belmont, six weeks after asking for more information. The previous Council had held a public hearing for a request to increase the zoning from R2 to R3 on property that some claimed was unsafe for development. They wanted more information about the property’s relationship with the floodplain. (See also: Council seeks floodplain info before Nassau Street rezoning, December 22, 2021)On February 7, City Engineer Jack Dawson prepared a briefing for the five elected officials, including two members who just joined. “There was a fair bit of community members who expressed concern over the flood risk associated with the rezoning including some varying information about floodplain mapping and some other resources about water surface elevation for the one percent annual exceedance event,” Dawson said. One percent annual exceedance is another way of saying 100-year flood, a term that can be somewhat misleading because such heavy volumes do in fact happen more frequently.  Properties that are prone to flooding can still receive insurance through a program monitored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] “The city agreed to partner with FEMA as floodplain managers when we signed on to the National Flood Insurance Program,” Dawson said. “City property owners get access to insurance through the NFIP exchange and in return we agreed to create a floodplain development ordinance with a series of minimum standards.” The property on Nassau Street is within the one percent exceedance zone, colored light blue on the city’s GIS viewer. That’s different from the floodway which is marked with red and blue stripes. FEMA officials determine where those boundaries lie and make periodic reviews, but property owners can appeal based on evidence. This is a process known as the Letter of Map Revision, or LOMR. “The city is the gatekeeper for determining LOMR validity,” Dawson said. “A LOMR should improve or correct the existing model or improved methods. It’s our job in engineering as the floodplain administrators to make sure it is technically sound.” An application for this property was made to FEMA in October 2014 and sent it on for the city for their comments. However, Dawson said in this case, the technical comments from engineering were not captured in the revision. “The 2017 LOMR. whether or not engineering agreed with it at the time, is the model that informs the flood plain,” Dawson said. He also said that engineering doesn’t usually get involved during a rezoning. “But when a site plan is submitted, we look to make sure it meets all codes and they can be in the flood plain as long as they’re built one foot above the flood elevation,” Dawson said. Dawson said there is a risk in building in the floodplain, and many have done so. There are 266 lots that have structures are in the floodplain. “It’s a high risk area,” Dawson said. “Living there, there’s some implicit risk with that and more people living in the flood plain means there’s more risk taken on as a city.” Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook said he had had concerns about the process after they were brought up. But, he said he arrived at a conclusion after many conversations. “The decision that we are being asked by some folks to make here is not a proper decision for us to make at the rezoning phase,” Snook said. “That does not mean that that if we grant the rezoning that it’s necessarily going to pass the site plan review.” Developer Nicole Scro said that by-right, they would build three duplexes on the property. The rezoning would allow more units to be built, which would bring down the cost of each to the people who will live there. “The composition of the units is smaller units and we’re doing that to save on construction costs so we can hit lower rents,” Scro said. “That’s the purpose of this rezoning.” Scro said she understood the concerns, but said she felt confident about the flood risk. The structures will be built at 327 feet above sea level. “And then we’re going to have three feet of crawl-space and another foot of subflooring so the finished floor elevation will be at 331 approximately,” Scro said. Council voted 5-0 to agree to the rezoning.This isn’t the end of the story with flood modeling. Charlottesville is beginning to develop a new flood model for the Moores Creek watershed to better understand hydrological processes. This is being paid for by the state government with proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. See also: Charlottesville awarded $153K for flood study from RGGI funds, October 6, 2021Shout-out for an upcoming talk on birdsIn today’s subscriber-fueled shout-out, if you’re interested in learning more about the birds around us, the National Sporting Library and Museum has a virtual event for you coming up on February 24. Jennifer Ackerman, the author of the Genius of Birds, will explore the brilliance of birds and delve into the mysteries of the avian brain. Ackerman as she shares her global adventures into the genius of birds. Learn how birds make and use tools, teach each other skills, count, navigate, create art, perform astonishing feats of memory, communicate, and even pass along cultural traditions.  The author will be joined by two top officials from the Wildlife Center of Virginia, an organization that has helped nearly 90,000 wild animals from every corner of Virginia. Center President Ed Clark and Senior Vice President Amanda Nicholson will bring along Ambassador Animals. The program is free and available via Zoom or Facebook like. Drop a line to info@nationalsporting.org for a link, or visit the National Sporting Library and Museum on Facebook. Albemarle briefed on spotted lanternfly As program manager for Plant Industry Services at the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, David Gianino leads the state’s efforts to fight threats to native plants that could harm whole industries if left unchecked. “And we have many different pest programs where we work with invasive species to mitigate either their spread or their impact here in Virginia, and in 2021 unfortunately Spotted Lanternfly has made its way to Albemarle County,” Gianino said. That was in July 2021 when a plant inspector found multiple life-stages along the Rivanna River near a railroad. Gianino told the Albemarle Board of Supervisors on February 2 that the Spotted Lanternfly can severely damage apples and grapes. “It is a piercing, sucking, mouth-part insect and it sucks phloem and sap from the stems of these trees which can negatively impact yield and can impact the quality of a fruit that relies on lots of sugar content,” Gianino said. “They swarm and feed very intensely in the fall and that can also impact how nice the grapes are, how good a wine it makes.” The spread of Spotted Lanternfly is due to it being a hitchhiking bug that jumps onto modes of transportation. Originally from China, the bug arrived in Pennsylvania in 2014. “It doesn’t traditionally fly but it will glide and it jumps on to cars, trucks, gravel, buses, anything that moves it will jump onto and that’s the primary way it gets around,’ Gianino said. Gianino said the swarms can also affect other property owners because it is unpleasant to be around. He said if not addressed, this can affect agribusiness and especially agritourism. “The sheer number of insects that pest can create in an environment is astounding,” Gianino said. The spread of the spotted lanternfly is compounded by another invasive species known either as alanthus or Tree of Heaven. So far, populations in Albemarle County are not as high as they are in the Winchester area, where a quarantine was established in 2019 and expanded to Clark and Warren counties last summer.“The quarantine requires business owners to obtain a permit and inspect all materials that are stored outside as well as trucks, trailers and vehicles that travel outside of the quarantine area,” reads a site set up to provide information for Winchester area residents. “I believe we have opportunities here to prevent this from happening [in Albemarle] because we do now have better tools,” Gianino said. Gianino said the site in Albemarle was treated with pesticides. Trees were injected with substances to prevent further infestation. “We’ve placed traps, we’ve scraped egg masses, and we plan to do a thorough survey there next year and continue treatment to try and mitigate this population,” Gianino said. There are no natural predators here and Gianino said they do not taste very good to other species. Gianino said early detection is key to addressing any invasive species and people who make a sighting are asked to report it to local extension offices so the extent of the spread is known across the Commonwealth. They also want people to seek out resources:Best Management Practices for Spotted Lanternfly in Yards and Landscapes Homeowner Tips and Inspection Checksheet More on the Plant Industry Services page for more resourcesAlso, kill it. “We tell people to stomp, scrape, squish the spotted lanternfly and then report it,” Gianino said. More on this as we move toward spring. Support the program!Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

NFIP's Maurstad: We Want to Continue to Work With Private Sector

Maryland REALTORS® CEO Chuck Kasky interviews Kevin Wagner Community Assistance Program Manager Water and Science Administration at the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and Richard Sobota Sr. Insurance Specialist Regional CRS Coordinator for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) about the National Flood Insurance Program, the Maryland Coastline, groups preparing for future rising tides, and the new risk rating. Learn a brief history of the National Flood Insurance Program and how the NFIP 2.0 model is set to have a multitude of advantages as it considers variables that were not included in the previous rating. https://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance/risk-rating https://mde.maryland.gov/Pages/index.aspx

Some of the highlights of the show include: What the NFIP is-how it is an outdated system more than 50 years old NAR Insurance committee- how it worked to change the system What improvements have been made with the new system How Ohioans are going to benefit What REALTORS need to know about the new system What REALTORS can do now to prepare their clients for this change

Attorney Shaun Hodge And Public Insurance Adjuster Cal Spoon On National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) And Proper Louisiana Claim Handling Want to learn more, and get the supporting documentation to go with it? Go to: https://publicadjusterbootcamp.com/product/is-it-a-conflict-of-interest-to-send-the-insurance-companies-adjuster-out-to-determine-the-cost-of-the-loss/ #nfip #nationalfloodinsuranceprogram #louisiana #claim #insurance #homeowner #businessowner #propertyowner #neworleans #laplace #contractor# restoration #publicadjusternearme #attorneynearme #galveston #texas #jacksonville #florida #entreprenudist #podcast #protecttheinsured #pathtoindemnity #pathtoindemnity2022 #law #attorney #publicadjuster #publicinsuranceadjuster #indemnity #propertyinsurance #mitigation #remediation Listen to The Entreprenudist Podcast: The Place To Hear Real Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Bare It All Help us monetize the podcast by letting us know who you are! http://survey.libsyn.com/entreprenudist IPhone: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/entreprenudist-podcast-place-to-hear-real-entrepreneurs/id1527646430 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/64er8dffexeoyogoMrZvpO?si=NifzMhwqQuWRIEWWgQbb7g YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUgmZm2M0K4&list=PLYd3b18s351yV0NMEx3plkSIbREynZaAr

If you live in a flood zone or want to own a house in a flood zone, you will want to tune in for this video. Connie Galewski of Avalon Insurance and I talk about the increases in flood insurance that has started on 10/1/2021. These price increases will vary on how far away from the water the property is but you can be sure that it will increase. Main points we cover: • Existing NFIP flood insurance owners will see an 18% increase cap until the house hits the premium that FEMA thinks it will be. • The existing NFIP policy can be transferred to new buyers so that will be a short term benefit to buyers and sellers. • Buyers that are buying a house from an owner that is in a flood zone but does not have flood insurance will be subjected to the full premium set by FEMA • Sellers in a flood zone need to have their current policy information ready to be disclosed so the new buyers can assume the current policy. Hopefully this information helps you or someone you know navigate these insane changes. By the way, if you are and about this, be sure to email your congressman and state rep. This is a Federal program. Reach out anytime I can help. Always here to serve! Have a rate day! I do Mortgages for a living, if I can ever help you buy or refinance a home let me know! · Apply for a mortgage now at https://timhart.floify.com/apply-now · TEXT “APPLY” to 239-437-4278 · Call me or text me 239-910-5668 · Talk to my team were here to help! 239-437-4278 · Check out my website www.TimHartJr.com Connect with me on Social Media YouTube - http://bit.ly/2Ourk8c Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/timhart453/?hl=en Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TimHartJr LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhartjr/

If you live in a flood zone or want to own a house in a flood zone, you will want to tune in for this video. Connie Galewski of Avalon Insurance and I talk about the increases in flood insurance that has started on 10/1/2021. These price increases will vary on how far away from the water the property is but you can be sure that it will increase. Main points we cover: • Existing NFIP flood insurance owners will see an 18% increase cap until the house hits the premium that FEMA thinks it will be. • The existing NFIP policy can be transferred to new buyers so that will be a short term benefit to buyers and sellers. • Buyers that are buying a house from an owner that is in a flood zone but does not have flood insurance will be subjected to the full premium set by FEMA • Sellers in a flood zone need to have their current policy information ready to be disclosed so the new buyers can assume the current policy. Hopefully this information helps you or someone you know navigate these insane changes. By the way, if you are upset about this, be sure to email your congressman and state rep. This is a Federal program. Reach out anytime I can help. Always here to serve! Have a rate day! I do Mortgages for a living, if I can ever help you buy or refinance a home let me know! · Apply for a mortgage now at https://timhart.floify.com/apply-now · TEXT “APPLY” to 239-437-4278 · Call me or text me 239-910-5668 · Talk to my team were here to help! 239-437-4278 · Check out my website www.TimHartJr.com Connect with me on Social Media YouTube - http://bit.ly/2Ourk8c Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/timhart453/?hl=en Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TimHartJr LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhartjr/

SCR CEO Nick Kremydas sits down with Lisa Sharrard to discuss FEMA's new Risk Rating 2.0 for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and how it will affect premiums on properties with flood insurance. Links: Choice Flood Insurance - https://simplyflood.com/ FEMA NFIP - https://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance

Steve Casey and Matt Gramza, two of CEC's water resource experts, discuss FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), some of the technical aspects of flood insurance studies, and the implications of local floodplain requirements. Listen to hear how floodplains are calculated and how they affect you. For more information, you can visit: https://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance, https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20210401/fema-updates-its-flood-insurance-rating-methodology-deliver-more-equitableand National Flood Insurance Program Now Factors in Climate Change - Videos from The Weather Channel | weather.com

David Maurstad, Senior Executive of the NFIP, shares his thoughts on disaster resiliency, mitigation, and a culture of preparedness with NAIC CEO Mike Consedine.

This episode features Jim Albert, Chairman & Co-Founder, Neptune Flood Guest Bio Jim Albert founded the insurtech startup Neptune Flood in 2016 based on a business model leveraging artificial intelligence and data analytics to make it easy to buy flood insurance.  Neptune, with business in 48 states and over 60,000 policies, is the fastest growing private flood insurer in the US. Prior to forming Neptune, he was CIO at a US insurer, ran a group of technology businesses in the UK, and led the consulting firm Idea Integration. Jim holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, and received additional education at Wharton, INSEAD, and Cornell. Highlights from the Show Neptune was founded in 2016 by Jim Albert and Bill Martin to make it easy to buy flood insurance There are about 5.5 million insured homes for flood risk, but about 60 million homes actually at risk, so this is a currently-small market that isn't protecting enough of the people at risk The average loss in Hurricane Harvey was $117k, and 80% of the homes did not have insurance for the water damage Using advanced analytics based on third party data presented a real opportunity to do better underwriting faster, with less effort on the part of the customer The dominant player in the space is the US government, with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which takes weeks to get coverage in place at high cost with limited coverage Neptune asks three questions (vs. 54 from NFIP), and can provide a bindable quote in 45 seconds (down from the 2 minutes they started with, so it's getting faster and easier) Rather than cutting the insights they get by asking few questions, they stopped asking things they knew or could know from a verifiable third party, so their accuracy is higher than if they asked for the data, and get more data than they could ask for from 150 external data sources Digital insurance was very new when Neptune was setting up, so it was tough to find capacity willing to back an MGA without an underwriter, but Neptune found support at Lloyd's, and found that regulators are starting to recognize the benefit to consumers from model-based underwriting Neptune just launched their Commercial offering on a direct basis, on top of their residential product through multiple channels (agents, brokers, other carriers, direct, partners like realtors and mortgage brokers) Neptune seeks to be present in the transaction where you think about needing insurance, like buying your home, rather than having to sell it to you when you aren't thinking about it Themes in the industry going forward Advice for startups What Jim is most proud of is being able to expand the market to protect more people than were being protected from flood in the past This episode is brought to you by Medallia (Medallia.com), and the book series, The Future of Insurance: From Disruption to Evolution, by Bryan Falchuk (future-of-insurance.com). Follow the podcast at future-of-insurance.com for more details and full show notes. Music courtesy of UPbeat Music, available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Google Play. Just search for "UPbeat Music".

In this episode, we talk about everything commercial flood-related. From the NFIP to private carriers and everything in between.

Rapid advances in data-driven technology and a precipitous rise in catastrophic flood events in the US presented an opportunity for this InsureTech startup There are 62 Million homes at moderate or extreme risk of flooding in the US, according to insurance risk assessment firm Verisk. Homeowners insurance does not typically cover flood damage and up to 50% of homes in high-risk areas have no flood insurance at all. This amounts to a serious problem, argues the founder of InsureTech startup Neptune Flood Insurance Jim Albert in this week's episode of the Business of Data Podcast. In the past, most flood insurance in the US was provided by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Now, powered by innovative technologies, nimble insurgent companies are shaking up the status quo. “The NFIP has done an exceptional job over the years, but as with most government programs, technology has started to outstrip what has happened within the flood space,” says Albert. “And so, what I tried to create with Neptune when I founded it in 2016 was an ‘Amazon-like' buying experience in flood insurance.” “You can get one-click buying for virtually everything else you do in life,” he continues. “So, we tried to make it easy to buy flood insurance in the US through the use of data analytics and a really simple online quoting platform.” The game-changing, automated approach championed by Neptune Flood Insurance was not without its skeptics. In 2016 when the company was founded, the idea of digital insurance was even more revolutionary than it is today. “There was a lot of skepticism about digital insurance [back then]. Could a digital model actually replace the traditional back room full of underwriters?” Albert recalls. “[Especially] when I explained that we don't have any underwriters. In fact, the underwriter is the computer.” What sets Neptune Flood Insurance apart from its competition is the speed that customers can get a quote and buy their flood insurance online. We've proved in the model at this point,” Albert says. “We pull in about a hundred different data elements in one second when you enter the address, and we do the full evaluation right then and there. The application of this technology could not be timelier. Not only are flood events likely to occur more often in the US, but due to the pandemic no-one wants to have an inspector in their home, nor to wait weeks for an estimate. Do [customers] want to sign on to a days or weeks-long slog to finally get the information that they need?” Albert concludes. “Or [do they] want to go to one site that has seemingly all the information with a really good price and great coverage options? That's what we see happening.” Key Takeaways Many homes at high risk of flooding in the US are uninsured. A lack of awareness of the risks is one cause, but catastrophic damage can take years to recover from Data has paved the way for a better solution. By pulling together data from a multitude of sources, Neptune Flood Insurance can provide a policy in seconds Hyper-personalization is on the way. Other types of insurance companies will soon take advantage of advanced, data-driven technology to provide highly personalized policies to their customers

In October of 2018, President Donald Trump signed Graves' provision into law that reduced the deductible for schools in the NFIP from $500,000 per structure, and $500,000 per building contents, to $500,000 per campus.

NAIC's newly elected secretary-treasurer and first black woman to serve as an officer, Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance's Director Chlora Lindley-Myers, sits down to discuss NFIP reauthorization, diversity and inclusion, and what got her into insurance.

Two hundred Mexico Beach, Florida homes sitting beach block from the Gulf of Mexico, yet labeled X-Zone, FEMA's lowest risk for flooding, were nearly wiped out by 2018's Hurricane Michael.  Many of those residents had no flood insurance, complicating which damage from the Category 5 storm may or may not be covered by their homeowners insurance.In fact, 80% of flood losses in the Florida Panhandle were uninsured.  Yet, there's just a trickle of greater demand for flood insurance post-storm.   Mexico Beach is fighting back with a tough new ordinance to counter the complacency created in residents by FEMA's inaccurate and outdated maps. Host Lisa Miller, a former deputy insurance commissioner, talks with two residents and an insurance agent about the impact of the new ordinance and how agents could be doing more to promote increasingly affordable flood coverage to their clients.Show NotesFEMA flood maps for Mexico Beach were last revised in 2009 but were based on a maximum storm surge of 10 feet.  Hurricane Michael produced a 15.5 foot storm surge plus 5-foot waves topping the surge, when it made landfall there on October 10, 2018.  The maps are used to identify which properties must have flood insurance to meet federal mortgage requirements and to set rates for those policies.Only one-third of Bay County, home to Mexico Beach and some of the worst damage in the 13-county impact zone, had National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies.   Dina Bautista didn't have flood insurance, but was one of the lucky ones.  Her Mexico Beach home was built on 12-foot pilings, the only one in her neighborhood.  “Every neighbor had water up to their roof,” she said.Yet despite the devastation, few Bay County residents have learned the lesson from Michael.  “I get the speech of ‘I've been in this house fifty years and never flooded' quite a bit,” said Trey Hutt, owner of Hutt Insurance Agency in nearby Panama City.  “What these mostly elderly people don't get is that in those intervening 50 years, we've poured a lot of asphalt and concrete all around them, and that water is going somewhere.  And every neighbor is now building higher than that original home, and water always runs downhill.”Melissa Poage became concerned walking around her Valrico, Florida neighborhood after a recent hard rainstorm and noticing a waterline almost up to front doorsteps.  She said her insurance agent had never discussed purchasing flood insurance with her.  Her entire neighborhood is in an X-Zone, defined as being at risk of a 1 in 500 year flood event, which equates to a 0.2% chance every year of being flooded.  “So I bought flood insurance and it was very reasonably priced, it's not expensive,” she said. Hutt, a 25 year insurance veteran, said people don't understand the true meaning of an X-Zone.“In our agency over the years, we've paid an awful lot more flood claims in X-Zones than we have in other zones.  An X-Zone does not equal ‘we will not flood', it just means it's less likely to flood than a Special Flood Hazard Area,” he said.Since Hurricane Opal in 1995, Hutt said his agency has aggressively offered flood policies with homeowners policies (which don't cover most flood damage).   Those customers who choose not to purchase it have to sign a form acknowledging that.  “A flood rejection form has become a part of a lot of agencies' tool kits,” he said.Both Hutt and Poage agree that it should be mandatory for insurance agents to “make the call” and offer customers flood insurance.  “I'm in favor of putting pressure on fellow agents to not only recommend flood insurance but we need to be able to prove that we've recommended it to a client, otherwise we might face legal action after a big storm such as Michael,” Hutt said.Bautista is an engineer with Dewberry Engineering and along with being a resident herself, serves as the consulting engineer for the city of Mexico Beach.  Within weeks after surveying Michael's devastation from both the 160 mph winds and 20.6 foot peak water level, city officials adopted a tough new floodplain ordinance that goes above and beyond FEMA flood maps. The ordinance affects rebuilding of homes that suffered substantial damage (greater than 50% structural damage) from Michael and all new construction:   Incorporated a preliminary draft of a new flood map that FEMA had been developing before Michael, even though the map itself is not yet in effect; Incorporated the map's shaded X-Zones as part of the city's more restrictive Special Hazard Flood Area with regard to construction standards; and Required all such rebuilding and new construction of properties in Zones A, AE, and shaded X, to raise their finished floor 18 inches above FEMA's 1 in 500 year flood event elevation. “We're trying to pick up the insurance gap and protect the residents,” Bautista explained.  “Most of them may not buy or be required to buy flood insurance in the zone they're in, but through our ordinance and the actual construction, we're trying to minimize their risk for future damage.”While such building code changes are not occurring in the rest of Bay County, Hutt said more private flood insurance companies are selling coverage alongside or in competition with the NFIP.  Florida's private market has been steadily growing with the number of companies more than doubling in the past two years.“We're finding these products are based on better data.  They're often less expensive and they are almost always better coverage,” Hutt said.  “The long-term solution is to get flood insurance priced more accurately.   Since it's been driven by political forces more than profitability, NFIP rates are artificially suppressed, and what that does is just encourage people to borrow money and build homes where they frankly might not or should be doing,” he said.The podcast discussion also included the potential for Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) insurance coverage or FEMA hazard mitigation grants to help homeowners pay for construction required in tougher building ordinances, such as those in Mexico Beach.  Private insurance companies offering both homeowners, wind, and flood coverage on the same policy would also simplify the process.Host Lisa Miller, a former deputy insurance commissioner, commended Mexico Beach officials for their leadership in building greater resiliency into the city's recovery.  “You're completely revolutionizing the new construction and rebuilding of the area in an attempt to withstand Mother Nature the next time.  That's very smart and helpful,” Miller said.Links and Resources Mentioned in this EpisodeDefinitions of FEMA Flood Zone Designations Majority of Michael Flood Victims Uninsured (LMA Newsletter of July 29, 2019)www.dewberry.comwww.huttinsurance.comPrivate Flood Insurance & Resilience (from Lisa Miller & Associates)Flood Follies (The Florida Insurance Roundup podcast, episode 16, December 16, 2018)Coastal communities should exercise caution in using FEMA Flood Maps as the primary indicator of coastal risk (by Dr. Rob Young, Director, Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University, and guest on the Flood Follies podcast)** The Listener Call-In Line for your recorded questions and comments to air in future episodes is 850-388-8002 or you may send email to LisaMiller@LisaMillerAssociates.com **The Florida Insurance Roundup from Lisa Miller & Associates, brings you the latest developments in Property & Casualty, Healthcare, Workers' Compensation, and Surplus Lines insurance from around the Sunshine State.  Based in the state capital of Tallahassee, Lisa Miller & Associates provides its clients with focused, intelligent, and cost conscious solutions to their business development, government consulting, and public relations needs.  On the web at www.LisaMillerAssociates.com or call 850-222-1041.  Your questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome!  Date of Recording 10/29/19. Email via info@LisaMillerAssociates.com   Composer: www.TeleDirections.com  © Copyright 2017-2019 Lisa Miller & Associates, All Rights Reserved

2018 was a tough year for flooding in the United States, and nowhere worse than in the Carolinas, where Hurricane Florence dumped three feet of rain in spots.  Damage is estimated at $13 billion but at least half of that is uninsured – as most residents had no flood insurance.  While some didn't know they needed it, others took a gamble by going without and lost.But the bigger folly some argue is federal flood insurance itself which encourages some homeowners to disregard risk, by providing subsidized premiums at a level far below what's actuarially-required to cover the claims' costs.  The same program also pays homeowners to rebuild their flooded homes in the same low-lying spots, over and over again.How can we better protect our lives and property from flood waters?  And what urgency will Florence bring to the debate on providing better flood insurance protection for coastal and inland residents alike?  Host Lisa Miller sat down with a catastrophe risk modeler and a coastal flood scientist to get some answers.Show Notes: Lisa's guests are both PhD's – one working in private sector flood insurance and the other in public university research on flooded coastlines – and both are focused on mitigating risks.  Dr. Roger Grenier is Senior Vice President and Global Resilience Practice Leader at AIR Worldwide in Boston.  His team has worked since 1992's Hurricane Andrew to develop catastrophe modeling as a way to predict the severity of extreme events.  Their data and analytics has helped make the insurance and reinsurance industries more resilient over time. Dr. Robert Young is a Professor of Coastal Geology and Director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.  His team of scientists and policy analysts examine how storms and sea level rise are changing America's coastline and communicate their findings to policymakers.  From individual homeowners to local communities to federal agencies, they have developed tools to protect from and adapt to flood risks. Dr. Grenier said advances in modeling technology are having a greater influence in assessing and pricing flood risk.  Older mapping technology, largely based on historical data, such as stream flows and hazard areas based on land use, has been used primarily by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to determine risk and rates.  The NFIP has evolved over its past 50 year history and is now beginning to adopt catastrophe models. “When you develop a model, you can look forward and assess not only changes in land use but also changes in the climate and that's how our models are driven, by starting really with a climate model as opposed to relying strictly on historical data,” said Dr. Grenier.  Modeling brings other benefits: its cost and scalability mean more frequent updates and more realistic gray areas of risk in place of black and white maps, where a property is strictly “in” or “out” of a particular flood zone.  The podcast also discusses policies on pricing risk and funding rebuilding after flood calamities.  Dr. Young said federal policy provides “moral hazards”: incentives to do the wrong thing rather than the right thing.  After storms, federal flood insurance and federal Stafford Act disaster funding pay to restore homes and sometimes elevate properties and structures to help prevent future flooding, something he said is only a partial solution.“If you lift-up an oceanfront home, you still have to hold the shoreline in place.  And if you raise a community anywhere in the floodplain, you still have to get utilities to that community and get transportation in there.  The biggest problem that I see right now is that there are very few incentives to change the exposure map for these communities, to get some properties out of areas that are in the floodplains,” said Dr. Young.Case in point: Dauphin Island, Alabama.  This community of repetitive loss properties has received seven disaster declarations in the past 30 years.  There have been properties rebuilt multiple times in the same location following successive storms, thanks to federal and state subsidies that rebuild the infrastructure.  From 1978 through September 2018, the taxpayer-backed NFIP has paid out more than $68 billion in claims – historically, nearly 30% of claims are paid to the 1% of properties classified as repetitive loss properties.“It's not the folks on Dauphin Island that are crazy, it's the rest of us that are crazy for allowing that to happen,” said Dr. Young.   The answer he said is changing incentives by finding a way for the true cost of living in these dangerous places to be incorporated in the cost of these properties.  The imbalance occurs in both high-cost oceanfront investment properties but also in affordable housing communities along our coastline.The podcast also discusses this year's White House budget that stressed reforms to bring needed financial stability to the debt-ridden NFIP and expanding the private market to reduce the federal government's NFIP exposure.  Under budget director Mick Mulvaney's proposal, FEMA would have authority to discontinue NFIP coverage for extreme repetitive loss properties following future losses. Starting in 2021, coverage for commercial properties would be phased-out, while no policies would be written for new construction inside a special flood hazard area. FEMA meanwhile is forging ahead and redesigning NFIP's 2019 rates to more realistically price risk.  Dr. Grenier predicted that any future changes will be by a measured process as the private insurance market evolves, so it can price for it and provide reserves for it.  “People need to understand the limitations of maps and understand other aspects of the home, such as elevation.  They need to hear the message about buying flood insurance, whether from private insurers or the NFIP, and be realistic about what they can expect when they have no insurance versus having a flood policy.Private insurance companies, powered by advanced catastrophe risk models, are able to better understand risk.  In Florida, encouraged by model regulation to encourage a vibrant private market, nearly 30 companies are offering coverage as an alternative to NFIP at competitive rates.Host Lisa Miller, a former Florida deputy insurance commissioner, noted “it's clear as crystal that when it comes to flood risk, we still build too close to known dangers.  The growing folly of our public policy is encouraging risky human behavior.  And we all pay, some with our own checkbook, the majority through higher taxpayer subsidies, and yet others, sadly, with their lives.”Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:Private Flood Insurance & Resilience webpage (Lisa Miller & Associates)IBHS Fortified Home™ Program (Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety) Coastal Wind Damage in North Carolina from Hurricane Florence (AIR Worldwide In Focus, 10/8/18)The Aftermath of Hurricane Florence (AIR Worldwide, 10/18/18)Flood insurance paid homeowners $100,000 more than FEMA after Harvey, expert says (Houston Chronicle, 6/16/18) Private flood insurance could fill North Carolina's coverage gap (Lisa Miller column in the Raleigh News&Observer, 11/16/18)Our View: Federal flood insurance program needs rethinking (Fayetteville Observer, 12/2/18)North Carolina Flooding Exposes Flaws in Flood Insurance Program (Bloomberg News/Bureau of National Affairs, 9/21/18)New resilience organization at FEMA aims to build ‘culture of preparedness' (Global Resilience Institute, 6/5/18)** The Listener Call-In Line for your recorded questions and comments to air in future episodes is 850-388-8002 or you may send email to LisaMiller@LisaMillerAssociates.com **The Florida Insurance Roundup from Lisa Miller & Associates, brings you the latest developments in Property & Casualty, Healthcare, Workers' Compensation, and Surplus Lines insurance from around the Sunshine State.  Based in the state capital of Tallahassee, Lisa Miller & Associates provides its clients with focused, intelligent, and cost conscious solutions to their business development, government consulting, and public relations needs.  On the web at www.LisaMillerAssociates.com or call 850-222-1041.  Your questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome!  Date of Recording 12/3/18. Email via info@LisaMillerAssociates.com   Composer: www.TeleDirections.com  © Copyright 2017-2018 Lisa Miller & Associates, All Rights Reserved

Congress is pushing into 2018 a decision on how to reform the beleaguered National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that 1.8 million Floridians depend on for their property flood protection. Congress must reauthorize the program as well, because without it, federally-backed home mortgages which require flood coverage for high-risk zoned properties could come to a standstill.  But the taxpayer-subsidized NFIP is $25 billion in debt and still using old flood data and maps, with rates that don't match risk.  Congress is considering reauthorization under a package of reform bills called the 21st Century Flood Reform Act.Host Lisa Miller, a former Florida deputy insurance commissioner, explores two of those key reforms on this program: what to do with grandfathered properties that are still enjoying 1960's-era premiums and riddled with repetitive losses, and how best to encourage private flood insurance market alternatives.  It's estimated that 77% of Florida properties would see lower premiums with private market policies.  Joining Lisa are guests Brian Squire, Managing Executive Senior Vice President at Hays Companies in Destin, Florida and Helen Devlin, Senior Lobbyist with the National Association of Realtors in Washington D.C.  Together, they outline what's at stake for Florida NFIP policyholders and ideas on how best to balance flood insurance affordability with NFIP sustainability, without hurting Florida's growing real estate market.Show Notes:         The bill passed by the U.S. House would strip grandfathered NFIP rates after two future claims, with rates then rising 10% per year until hitting the current risk-rate. A third claim would raise rates 15% per year.  The podcast discusses how this is meant to relieve some of the financial burden to the heavily subsidized federal government program, while providing greater cost accountability and sharing with those properties that continually have losses and keep getting rebuilt or repaired, only to have sometimes identical losses re-occur during the next event.Brian Squire said the key to a more sustainable NFIP and one that encourages private flood insurance alternatives is to change the grandfathering provisions so current recipients can have safe harbor to move into the private market and move back into the NFIP without losing benefits, should the private market not work for them.  He noted it's also important that private insurance companies be properly vetted and with state regulation to provide needed consumer confidence to make the switch.Helen Devlin noted it's important to have a private market compliment to NFIP and that the National Association of Realtors has been working for years with Congress to make improvements necessary to safeguard property owners.  Allowing portability of grandfathered benefits and more insurance options for consumers are key.   She also noted the rates charged versus true risk “are out of whack” and that better utilizing improved modeling technology and other advances will create better coverage for more people without “sticker shock” premiums.Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:Brian Squire, Managing Executive Senior Vice President at Hays Companies in Destin, Florida www.hayscompanies.comHelen Devlin, Senior Lobbyist with the National Association of Realtors in Washington D.C. https://www.nar.realtor/21st Century Flood Reform Act (H.R. 2874) (https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2874/text)The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) (https://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program)FEMA webpage on NFIP Reform (https://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance-reform)Flood Insurance Writers in Florida (from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation) (https://floir.com/Sections/PandC/FloodInsurance/FloodInsuranceWritersFL.aspx)Top 10 Facts About the National Flood Insurance Program (from Lisa Miller & Associates) (http://lisamillerassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Top-10-Facts-About-the-National-Flood-Insurance-Program.pdf)The federal Biggert-Waters Act and Florida Impacts (from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation) (https://floir.com/Sections/PandC/FloodInsurance/FloodInsurance.aspx)Aligning Natural Resource Conservation, Flood Hazard Mitigation, and Social Vulnerability Remediation in Florida (Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics: Vol. 4: Iss. 1, Article 4.  Summer 2017) which found Florida has 15,000 “Repetitive Loss Properties”.  Those properties collectively filed more than 40,000 claims against the National Flood Insurance Program between 1978 and 2011 - more than 1,200 claims per year, on average. (https://cbe.miis.edu/joce/vol4/iss1/4/)Since 1978, 12 Counties Have Accounted for a Third of U.S. Flood Insurance Claims (Forbes, November 16, 2017) (https://www.forbes.com/sites/zillow/2017/11/16/since-1978-12-counties-have-accounted-for-a-third-of-u-s-flood-insurance-claims/#d2a72781a8e5)Florida Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights (From the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation) (http://floir.com/siteDocuments/HomeownerClaimsBillofRights2014.pdf)** The Listener Call-In Line for your recorded questions and comments to air in future episodes is 850-388-8002 or you may send email to LisaMiller@LisaMillerAssociates.com**The Florida Insurance Roundup from Lisa Miller & Associates, brings you the latest developments in Property & Casualty, Healthcare, Workers' Compensation, and Surplus Lines insurance from around the Sunshine State.  Based in the state capital of Tallahassee, Lisa Miller & Associates provides its clients with focused, intelligent, and cost conscious solutions to their business development, government consulting, and public relations needs.  On the web at www.LisaMillerAssociates.com or call 850-222-1041.  Your questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome! Date of Recording 12/5/17. Email via info@LisaMillerAssociates.com Composer: www.TeleDirections.com

Aided by new state legislation this year designed to encourage a robust private flood insurance market in Florida, the number of companies writing flood policies has nearly doubled in the last year, while Congress works this summer to reform the federal government's beleaguered National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).  Meanwhile, new technology is making structures more resilient than ever to floodwaters, allowing those insurers to more accurately price risk and compete with the NFIP. Mike Graham of Smart Vent Products has been working with modeling firms that are part of the new technology and shares with Lisa in this program how flood vents, dry proofing, and other mitigation options are lowering flood risks and with them,  policy premiums by up to 80%.  Just as wind mitigation years ago helped lower homeowners and wind insurance rates, today's flood mitigation techniques can lower private flood insurance rates, making flood coverage more affordable – and available – for everyone. Show Notes: Actuarial experts, disaster modelers, and third-party vendors are utilizing new technology to better predict and price flood risk.  Models are important because the NFIP and parent FEMA don't use models – they use only maps.  But models help differentiate the flood risk between a property owner in Zone X with mitigation vs. another person in Zone X without mitigation – with premiums priced accordingly by the growing number of private flood insurers entering the marketplace. Mike Graham of Smart Vent Products shares his experience on some of the newest mitigation technologies and practices, including vents that allow flood waters to wash into – and back out of - structures, minimizing damage.  A study of a two-square mile area in New Jersey that suffered $1.2 million in flood claims losses showed through modeling how pre-mitigation would have eliminated the structural damage and reduced the entire area's flood height by one inch, which while it doesn't sound like much, equates to a $20,000 cost avoidance per claim according to FEMA.  Mitigation measures also help eliminate the need for retention ponds.  FEMA estimates that for every $1 spent on pre-event mitigation, $4 is saved in insurance claims.  Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Part One of The Florida Insurance Roundup Growing Florida's Private Flood Market  (https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/lisamillerassociates/episodes/2017-06-20T07_07_14-07_00) CoreLogic Report on Risk of Hurricane Storm Damage in 2017  (http://www.corelogic.com/about-us/news/corelogic-storm-surge-analysis-identifies-nearly-6.9-million-us-homes-at-risk-of-hurricane-storm-surge-damage-in-2017.aspx) U.S. House of Representatives draft bill of The Flood Risk Mitigation Act of 2017, which would require communities to create plans to mitigate high concentrations of multiple-loss properties. (https://financialservices.house.gov/uploadedfiles/fsc04_enhance_the_nfips_mitigation_process_discussion_draft.pdf) www.smartvent.com (Mechanically Operated Flood Vent systems) Smart Vent White Paper (http://lisamillerassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/floodtool.pdf) https://dryfloodproofing.com  (Point of Use stored Flood Barriers) Top 10 Facts About the National Flood Insurance Program  (http://lisamillerassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Top-10-Facts-About-the-National-Flood-Insurance-Program.pdf) Florida Office of Insurance Regulation's list of flood insurance writers in Florida: (http://floir.com/Sections/PandC/FloodInsurance/FloodInsuranceWritersFL.aspx) ** The Listener Call-In Line for your recorded questions and comments to air in future episodes is 850-388-8002 or you may send email to LisaMiller@LisaMillerAssociates.com** The Florida Insurance Roundup from Lisa Miller & Associates, brings you the latest developments in Property & Casualty, Healthcare, Workers' Compensation, and Surplus Lines insurance from around the Sunshine State.  Based in the state capital of Tallahassee, Lisa Miller & Associates provides its clients with focused, intelligent, and cost conscious solutions to their business development, government consulting, and public relations needs.  On the web at www.LisaMillerAssociates.com or call 850-222-1041.  Your questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome! Date of Recording 6/15/17. Email via info@LisaMillerAssociates.com   Composer: www.TeleDirections.com