Managing Natural Disaster Risk:

Tyler Corson-Rikert | Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA) | February 22, 2018 

FEMA’s Strategic Direction for the 

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and 

National Mitigation Investment Strategy (NMIS)
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Presentation Overview

• National Flood Insurance Program

• Overview

• 2017 hurricanes

• Insurance moonshot

• Reinsurance

• NFIP reauthorization

• National Mitigation Investment Strategy

• Mitigation moonshot

• Overview of the draft strategy

• Seeking feedback
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National Flood Insurance Program

Floods continue to be the most common and 

costly natural disaster in the United States, 

affecting every region and state. 

Congress created the NFIP in 1968 to reduce 

the financial and human toll of flooding 

disasters on the nation.

• Over 22,300 NFIP-participating communities in all 50 states and 6 territories

• $1.27 trillion in coverage for 5.1 million policyholders

• $20.5 billion debt to the U.S. Treasury
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Elements of the NFIP

Identify Risk

 FEMA identifies flood hazards through 

scientific and engineering methods

 FEMA maps hazards on Flood Insurance 

Rate Maps (FIRMs)

 FIRMs used for floodplain management, 

flood insurance, and risk communication

Mitigate Risk

 Participating communities’ floodplain management 

regulations must meet or exceed the NFIP minimum 

requirements

 Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) funds projects 

and planning that reduce or eliminate long-term risk 

of flood damage to NFIP-insured structures

Insure Flood Risk

 For homeowners, renters, and business owners 

with eligible structures in participating communities

 65 private insurance companies write NFIP 

coverage under their own names

 FEMA underwrites all NFIP policies, and also writes 

some through NFIP Direct
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2017 Hurricanes

This year, we enhanced the NFIP claims process to 

help disaster survivors quickly begin their recovery

91,600

claims submitted from 

Hurricane Harvey

32,500

claims submitted from 

Hurricane Irma

700+

claims submitted from 

Hurricane Maria

As of February 2018, 

the NFIP has paid 

over 

$9.1 billion

to insured survivors of 

hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and 

Maria
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Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration 

(FIMA) Moonshots

Double

the

Coverage

Quadruple 

the 

Investment in Mitigation
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NFIP Customer Experience

To reach our moonshots, we are working to transform the NFIP into a provider 

that our policyholders and communities value and trust. FEMA is developing:

And better customer experiences

Better products Clearer communications

More accurate 

risk assessments
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Path Forward

We must change the social norm around 

flood insurance.

• People pay to insure their cars, their 

health, their lives, their businesses, and 

their homes from fire, wind, and hail – why not from flood?

• It’s in all of our best interests to build 

more resiliency in our communities and 

flood insurance is one sure way to do 

that. 

• We’ve set an ambitious goal for 

ourselves and the NFIP in the hopes of 

changing national thinking around flood 

insurance. 
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NFIP Reinsurance Program

Reinsurance and 

similar risk transfer 

mechanisms allow

FEMA to diversify 

the tools it uses to 

manage the 

financial 

consequences of 

the NFIP’s

catastrophic flood 

risk –

strengthening 

the program’s 

financial 

framework
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Hurricane Harvey Triggered the 2017 Placement
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NFIP Reauthorization

• Congress must reauthorize the NFIP 

by no later than March 23, 2018

• If the authorization lapses, FEMA 

must stop selling and renewing 

policies for millions of properties in 

communities across the nation

• FEMA has provided extensive 

support to Congressional 

deliberations 

“Through a timely, multi-year reauthorization, Congress would 

enable FEMA to continue supporting those who take steps to 

protect their homes and businesses.”

-- Roy Wright, Deputy Associate Administrator; testimony before the 

Senate Banking Committee on March 14, 2017.
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NFIP Reauthorization Topics and Principles 

Promote stability in the real estate and mortgage 

markets and allow FEMA to continue improving the 

program.

Timely, Multi-Year 

Reauthorization

NFIP reauthorization is an opportunity for Congress to 

take bold steps to transition the NFIP to a more sound 

financial framework.

Create a Sound 

Financial 

Framework

Flood insurance – whether purchased from the NFIP or 

private carriers – enables insured survivors to recover 

more quickly and more fully after flood events.

Increase Flood 

Coverage

Transform the NFIP into a simple experience that 

customers value and trust.

Improve the 

Customer 

Experience

Financial 

Management

Mitigation and 

Floodplain 

Management

Insurance 

Claims, 

Appeals, and 

Litigation

Flood Risk 

Mapping and 

Communication

Private Sector

Engagement

Insurance 

Rating

Insurance 

NFIP Coverage

Reauthorization 

Topics in 

Discussion

Principles Guiding FEMA’s Engagement on NFIP Reauthorization
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Recognizing the NFIP’s 50th Anniversary

“Insurance is the first line of 

defense for disaster recovery.”

Brock Long

FEMA Administrator 
Federal Insurance and Mitigation 

Administration (FIMA) Moonshots
Mitigation Saves 2.0 – 2017 Interim Report

Released 1/11/18 

Accessible via: https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/156979
Mitigation Investment Moonshot 

Baselining Mitigation Spendingnd

Cities

Philanthropies
Draft 

National 

Mitigation 

Investment 

Strategy

A REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK

JANUARY 11-MARCH 11 2018
Why a National Mitigation 

Investment Strategy (NMIS)?

In order for our nation to become more resilient, 

we must develop more effective approaches to 

closing the hazard mitigation and insurance gap.

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The Solution: 

Coordination 

Toward 

Impact

Mitigation 

Actions/ 

Need 

Mismatch

Different 

Approaches 

& Mandates

Broad Desire 

to Mitigate

Large Natural 

Disasters
Development of the NMIS

Hurricane 

Sandy

• Summer 

2012

GAO 

Report 15-

515

• Summer 

2015

Federal 

Mitigation 

Investment 

Strategy

• Summer 

2015 

Summer 

2016

National 

Mitigation 

Investment 

Strategy 

Concept 

Paper

• Summer 

2016

Draft 

National 

Mitigation 

Investment 

Strategy 

(.5)

• Summer 

2017

National 

Investment 

Strategy 

1.0

•November 

2018

Original Tasking: Establish an investment strategy

to identify, prioritize, and implement federal

investments in disaster resilience that will limit

the nation’s fiscal exposure to disaster losses

Shifting Perspective: Stakeholders challenged the

value of a “federal-only” mitigation strategy,

articulating that the challenge for mitigation is to

align efforts across all levels of government
Goals for the NMIS 

Recommendations

Increase the effectiveness of existing federal programs in reducing disaster 

losses and increasing resilience

Incentivize significantly greater state, local, tribal, territorial and private 

sector responsibility and contributions to long-term risk reduction

Provide guidance to federal agencies and departments, as well as state, 

local, tribal, territorial entities and the private sector, to consider in making 

resource allocation decisions
NMIS Outcomes

Outcome 1 (Improved Coordination): Coordination of risk mitigation and management improves between and 

among federal, public, private, and non-profit sector entities.

Outcome 2 (Innovative Financing): Private and non-profit sector entities increase their investments in mitigation and 

provide more innovative financing approaches.

Outcome 3 (Shared Accountability): State, local, tribal, and territorial governments increasingly empowered to lead 

risk reduction activities and share responsibility and accountability with the federal government.

Outcome 4 (Access to Data): Public, private and non-profit sector entities develop and share more of the data and 

tools needed to make risk-informed mitigation investments.

Outcome 5 (Risk-Informed Communication): Public, private, and non-profit sector entities improve risk 

communication, leading to more risk-informed mitigation investments by individuals and communities.

Outcome 6 (Resilient Built Environment): The built environment — whether grey or nature-based infrastructure, and 

including lifeline infrastructure, buildings and homes — becomes more resilient and promotes community resilience.
The Need for Feedback

Get as much input as 

possible to make the 

NMIS a relevant and 

helpful document for 

all national mitigation 

stakeholders.

Review the NMIS 

outcomes and 

recommendations 

and provide feedback:

What works?

What doesn’t?

Where has this worked? 

What is missing?

Drafted NMIS 

outcomes, 

recommendations, & 

feedback questions

The Goal The Ask The Format
Providing Your Input

Please provide your input about mitigation and resilience issues, gaps, and 

opportunities. Opportunities to engage 

 Comment period: January 11 – March 11, 2018

 Draft National Mitigation Investment Strategy & fact sheet accessible at: 

https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/116787

 Email: Share you ideas directly by e-mail the NMIS team at fema-nmis@fema.dhs.gov

 IdeaScale: You can also submit comments to the FEMA IdeaScale forum titled “Mitigation 

Investment for the Nation” at http://fema.ideascale.com.

 Other Opportunities: Publish information in a newsletter, invite the NMIS team to address 

your meeting or conference, and participate in an NMIS webinar (opportunities to be 

announced).