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FEMA

Flooding as a national problem

Until the late 1960s, most property owners were unable to get insurance against flood damage.  Private insurance firms, aware of the potential for catastrophic losses were unwilling to assume the financial risk.  This put the burden on taxpayers to provide costly disaster relief to a growing number of flood victims.

In 1968, Congress addressed this issue by creating the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This federal program provides flood insurance at a reasonable cost in exchange for the careful management of flood-prone areas by local communities.

Today the NFIP serves over 4 million customers in over 18,000 communities across the country.  It is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through its Federal Insurance Administration.  To become eligible, a community first enters the emergency phase of the NFIP by adopting preliminary actions to reduce the threat of flooding.  Everyone in the community can then apply for limited amounts of flood insurance at federally subsidized rates.

Much higher levels of insurance become available when a community qualifies for the regular phase of the program.  This occurs after FEMA has conducted a detailed flood study and local officials have enacted more stringent measures to safeguard life and property from future flooding.  To find out whether your community is eligible, ask your Farmers Insurance agent.