National Flood Insurance Program: Factors Affecting Actuarial Soundness


Book Description

The vast majority of homes and small commercial buildings that are insured against flood damage in the U.S. are covered by the Nat. Flood Insur. Program (NFIP). Although the flood insurance (FI) program had been largely self-sustaining in the past, it had to borrow $17 billion from the federal Treasury to pay claims after the catastrophic hurricanes of 2005. That borrowing has highlighted questions about the program¿s financial health, including the actuarial soundness of the premium rates charged on policies that are not explicitly subsidized and the cost of paying claims for properties that have suffered multiple flood losses. This report explains how NFIP sets ¿full-risk¿ premium rates for the FI program. Charts and tables.










Insurance and Behavioral Economics


Book Description

This book examines the behavior of individuals at risk and insurance industry policy makers involved in selling, buying and regulation.




At War with the Weather


Book Description

Innovative, long-term strategies for reducing vulnerability to large-scale natural disasters and for providing financial support for disaster victims. The United States and other nations are facing large-scale risks at an accelerating rhythm. In 2005, three major hurricanes—Katrina, Rita, and Wilma—made landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast within a six-week period. The damage caused by these storms led to insurance reimbursements and federal disaster relief of more than $180 billion—a record sum. Today we are more vulnerable to catastrophic losses because of the increasing concentration of population and activities in high-risk coastal regions of the country. The question is not whether but when, and how frequently, future catastrophes will strike and the extent of damages they will cause. Who should pay the costs associated with catastrophic losses suffered by homeowners in hazard-prone areas? In At War with the Weather, Howard Kunreuther and Erwann Michel-Kerjan with their colleagues deliver a groundbreaking analysis of how we currently mitigate, insure against, and finance recovery from natural disasters in the United States. They offer innovative, long-term solutions for reducing losses and providing financial support for disaster victims that define a coherent strategy to assure sustainable recovery from future large-scale disasters. The amount of data collected and analyzed and innovations proposed make this the most comprehensive book written on these critical issues in the past thirty years.




A Unified National Program for Floodplain Management


Book Description

Prepared by the Interagency Task Force on Floodplain Management. Includes National Flood Insurance Program.




Automobile Insurance


Book Description

The mathematical theory of non-life insurance developed much later than the theory of life insurance. The problems that occur in the former field are far more intricate for several reasons: 1. In the field oflife insurance, the company usually has to pay a claim on the policy only once: the insured dies or the policy matures only once. It is with only a few particular types of policy (for instance, sickness insurance, when the insured starts working again after a period of sickness) that a valid claim can be made on a number of different occasions. On the other hand, the general rule in non-life insurance is that the policyholder is liable to be the victim of several losses (in automobile insurance, of course, but also in burglary and fire insurance, householders' comprehensive insurance, and so on). 2. In the field of life insurance, the amount to be paid by the company excluding any bonuses-is determined at the inception of the policy. For the various types of life insurance contracts, the sum payable on death or at maturity of the policy is known in advance. In the field of non-life insurance, the amount of a loss is a random variable: the cost of an automobile crash, the partial or totalloss of a building as a result of fire, the number and nature of injuries, and so forth.




Home Builder's guide to coastal construction


Book Description

NOTE: NO FURTHER DISCOUNT FOR THIS PRINT PRODUCT -- OVERSTOCK SALE -- Signficantly reduced lsit price FEMA produced this series of 37 fact sheets to provide technical guidance and recommendations concerning the construction of coastal residential buildings. The fact sheets present information aimed at improving the performance of buildings subject to flood and wind forces in coastal environments. Photographs and drawings illustrate National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulatory requirements, the proper siting of coastal buildings, and recommended design and construction practices for building components, including structural connections, the building envelope, and utilities. Many of the fact sheets also include lists of FEMA and other resources that provide more information about the topics discussed. Where appropriate, resources are accompanied by active web links. A list of the individual fact sheets that are contained inFEMA P-499, follows.Category 1 GeneralFact Sheet No. 1.1, Coastal Building Successes and FailuresFact Sheet No. 1.2, Summary of Coastal Construction Requirements and RecommendationsFact Sheet No. 1.3, Using a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)Fact Sheet No. 1.4, Lowest Floor ElevationFact Sheet No. 1.5, V-Zone Design and Construction CertificationFact Sheet No. 1.6, Designing for Flood Levels Above the BFEFact Sheet No. 1.7, Coastal Building MaterialsFact Sheet No. 1.8, Non-Traditional Building Materials and SystemsFact Sheet No. 1.9, Moisture Barrier Systems Category 2 Planning Fact Sheet No. 2.1, How Do Siting and Design Decisions Affect the Owner's Costs?Fact Sheet No. 2.2, Selecting a Lot and Siting the Building Category 3 Foundations Fact Sheet No. 3.1, Foundations in Coastal AreasFact Sheet No. 3.2, Pile InstallationFact Sheet No. 3.3, Wood-Pile-to-Beam ConnectionsFact Sheet No. 3.4, Reinforced Masonry Pier ConstructionFact Sheet No. 3.5, Foundation Walls Category 4 Load Paths Fact Sheet No. 4.1, Load PathsFact Sheet No. 4.2, Masonry DetailsFact Sheet No. 4.3, Use of Connectors and Brackets Category 5 Wall Systems Fact Sheet No. 5.1, HousewrapFact Sheet No. 5.2, Roof-to-Wall and Deck-to-Wall FlashingFact Sheet No. 5.3, Siding Installation in High-Wind RegionsFact Sheet No. 5.4, Attachment of Brick Veneer In High-Wind Regions Category 6 Openings Fact Sheet No. 6.1, Window and Door InstallationFact Sheet No. 6.2, Protection of Openings Shutters and Glazing Category 7 - Roofing Fact Sheet No. 7.1, Roof Sheathing InstallationFact Sheet No. 7.2, Roof Underlayment for Asphalt Shingle RoofsFact Sheet No. 7.3, Asphalt Shingle Roofing for High-Wind RegionsFact Sheet No. 7.4, Tile Roofing for High-Wind AreasFact Sheet No. 7.5, Minimizing Water Intrusion through Roof Vents in High-Wind RegionsFact Sheet No. 7.6, Metal Roof Systems in High-Wind Regions Category 8 Attachments Fact Sheet No. 8.1, Enclosures and Breakaway WallsFact Sheet No. 8.2, Decks, Pools, and Accessory StructuresFact Sheet No. 8.3, Protecting Utilities Category 9 Repairs Fact Sheet No. 9.1, Repairs, Remodeling, Additions, and Retrofitting FloodFact Sheet No. 9.2, Repairs, Remodeling, Additions, and Retrofitting Wind Category G Guide Fact Sheet No. G.1, Technical Fact Sheet GuideFact Sheet No. G.2, References and Resources"




Catastrophe Modeling


Book Description

Based on the research that has been conducted at Wharton Risk Management Center over the past five years on catastrophic risk. Covers a hot topic in the light of recent terroristic activities and nature catastrophes. Develops risk management strategies for reducing and spreading the losses from future disasters. Provides glossary of definitions and terms used throughout the book.




Disaster Resilience


Book Description

No person or place is immune from disasters or disaster-related losses. Infectious disease outbreaks, acts of terrorism, social unrest, or financial disasters in addition to natural hazards can all lead to large-scale consequences for the nation and its communities. Communities and the nation thus face difficult fiscal, social, cultural, and environmental choices about the best ways to ensure basic security and quality of life against hazards, deliberate attacks, and disasters. Beyond the unquantifiable costs of injury and loss of life from disasters, statistics for 2011 alone indicate economic damages from natural disasters in the United States exceeded $55 billion, with 14 events costing more than a billion dollars in damages each. One way to reduce the impacts of disasters on the nation and its communities is to invest in enhancing resilience-the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from and more successfully adapt to adverse events. Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative addresses the broad issue of increasing the nation's resilience to disasters. This book defines "national resilience", describes the state of knowledge about resilience to hazards and disasters, and frames the main issues related to increasing resilience in the United States. It also provide goals, baseline conditions, or performance metrics for national resilience and outlines additional information, data, gaps, and/or obstacles that need to be addressed to increase the nation's resilience to disasters. Additionally, the book's authoring committee makes recommendations about the necessary approaches to elevate national resilience to disasters in the United States. Enhanced resilience allows better anticipation of disasters and better planning to reduce disaster losses-rather than waiting for an event to occur and paying for it afterward. Disaster Resilience confronts the topic of how to increase the nation's resilience to disasters through a vision of the characteristics of a resilient nation in the year 2030. Increasing disaster resilience is an imperative that requires the collective will of the nation and its communities. Although disasters will continue to occur, actions that move the nation from reactive approaches to disasters to a proactive stance where communities actively engage in enhancing resilience will reduce many of the broad societal and economic burdens that disasters can cause.