RAA urges FEMA council to boost private flood insurance options

The Reinsurance Association of America (RAA) has called on the President's FEMA Review Council to consider reforms that would enhance private flood insurance options for consumers. This comes as the Council, established by President Trump in early 2025, evaluates the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) as part of broader efforts to improve emergency management and disaster response.

During a recent meeting with the Council, RAA discussed ideas aimed at providing property owners with more choices and increasing competition in the flood insurance market. Frank Nutter, President of RAA, highlighted the readiness of the reinsurance sector to contribute to these efforts. "We urge the Administration and Congress to reauthorize the NFIP and work with our industry and states to expand the private flood insurance market’s role and provide property owners more flood insurance options, rather than rely on limited federal aid after an event," Nutter said.

For nearly ten years, reinsurers have been involved in supporting both NFIP and private flood insurance markets. Their involvement demonstrates how private markets can help reduce federal exposure to flood losses while protecting taxpayers. The Department of Homeland Security has identified floods as the most frequent natural disaster in the U.S., yet a report from the Congressional Budget Office indicates that 92% of properties at risk do not have NFIP coverage, leaving many Americans vulnerable.

In President Trump's first term, his fiscal year 2019 budget proposal acknowledged NFIP's private reinsurance risk transfer program as a model for taxpayer protection and financial resilience. 

Further information on preparing for floods is available at https://www.ready.gov/floods and https://www.cbo.gov/publication/60042.

Information from this article can be found here.