Climate: Federally-Insured Assets Along the Coast
The second largest fiscal liability of the U.S. government, behind social security, is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) (Beatley et al, 2002). While insured assets in coastal areas represent only a portion of this total liability, taxpayers are currently responsible for $527 billion of insured assets in the coastal floodplain.
- $527 billion
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Value of assets insured by the NFIP in the coastal floodplain in 2011.
Source: FEMA, 2012a
- 9
-
Of the top ten most destructive flood events on record have occurred since 1999.
Source: FEMA, 2012b
- $24 billion
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Total losses paid out by the NFIP within the coastal floodplain from 1978-2011.
Source: FEMA, 2012a
- $16 billion
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Total losses paid out by FEMA after Hurricane Katrina.
Source: FEMA, 2012b
Download Federally Insured Assets Interactive Map and Data (658kb)
Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency 2012a
Note: American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands were not included in this dataset.
About this Topic
This topic presents data about federally insured assets in coastal areas of the U.S. as of 2011. Data are provided from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for each state on the number of National Flood Insurance Program policies, annual value of premiums, current coverage value, and cumulative value of all payouts since 1978. There are currently 2,409,610 policies in the National Flood Insurance Program in coastal areas. The premiums for these policies total a little over 1.8 billion dollars with a coverage value of about 527 billion dollars. The cumulative value of all claim payouts since 1978 totals just over 24 billion dollars. Florida ranked first in number of policies and value of premiums and coverage. Louisiana ranked first in cumulative value of claim payouts since 1978. In addition, a Case Study is presented on U.S. Hurricane Top Ten Lists and a Management Success story is presented on the Coastal Barrier Resources Act.
Closer Look
Relevant Links
National Flood Insurance Program
http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/
NOAA Coastal Climate Adaptation
http://collaborate.csc.noaa.gov/climateadaptation/default.aspx
NOAA Coastal Storms Program
http://www.csc.noaa.gov/csp/
