Flooding is the number one disaster in this country. In 1968, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to make affordable flood insurance generally available and to decrease federal disaster assistance expenditures. By participating in the program, communities adopted and enforced floodplain management regulations, adhered to new building standards, and, in return, their property owners received federally backed insurance.

Fast-forward 45 years, and the costs and consequences of flooding are increasing, while artificially low rates and discounts are no longer sustainable. Congress passed the Biggert-Watters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, to make the NFIP more sustainable and financially sound over time.

As a result, the flood maps are changing to accurately reflect the risk, thereby causing the rates to change to accurately reflect the risk. For some communities, these changes will be significant and could seriously impact residents’ ability to insure properties.

To help local government managers understand the impact to residents, ICMA’s Center for Public Safety Management invited the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to conduct a webinar series. In this two-part series: FEMA’s Bill Lesser and Joe Cecil addressed the history of the program, the reasons for the reform, and helped to provide talking points for residents.

For more information on these changes and what local governments can do to minimize their impact, this webinar is available here.