What Policyholders Need to Know about Flood Insurance Reform
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Transformation
FEMA established a Task Force to resolve litigation involving Hurricane Sandy claims, provide a process in which Sandy survivors can have their claims reviewed if they thought they were underpaid, and develop options to reform the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
The Task Force has identified areas for attention, including the need for increased oversight, enhanced education and training, strengthened data gathering and analysis capabilities, and a greater customer orientation for the NFIP.
As part of FEMA’s review and reform of the NFIP, the Agency has awarded McKinsey & Company, Inc. a support contract for the NFIP Customer Experience. McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm that brings expertise and an outside perspective to help FEMA assess the NFIP claims process from a customer-experience perspective and to develop immediate reforms to align these processes with FEMA’s survivor-centric vision, mission and approach.
The Task Force is implementing an enhanced training program for adjusters and tracking and evaluating all engineering report costs.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs report “Assessing and Improving Flood Insurance Management and Accountability in the wake of Hurricane Sandy” identified the need for flood event crisis planning to better prepare for major flood events. FEMA is developing a study to examine NFIP surge staffing needs.
The National Academy of Sciences is conducting an affordability study to identify elements necessary to design a quantitative affordability analysis. FEMA will then deliver a framework for affordability within 18 months of the study’s completion.
FEMA has issued guidance to the Write Your Own (WYO) insurance companies that sell and service Standard Flood Insurance Policies to follow FEMA’s survivor-centric customer service approach. Adjusters should treat policyholders with respect, provide information needed to understand claim adjustment, fully understand what may constitute price changes and explain any exceptional adjustments in the estimate and claim file. Insurance companies must make all draft engineering reports available to policyholders upon request.
The Task Force is working with nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, community officials, insurance companies, industry experts and Congressional staff, among others, to improve NFIP processes.
The NFIP is soliciting input from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which has performed objective reviews of the NFIP, serving as an independent, nonpartisan agency working for the U.S. Congress.
FEMA has notified WYO insurance companies of changes in the process for seeking reimbursement for expenses, such as the hiring of engineering firms for claims adjustments. FEMA will review and approve all proposed engineering costs to ensure that WYOs, as fiscal agents for the U.S. Government, are fulfilling their role by guaranteeing that taxpayer funds are being appropriately expended and their work is consistent with putting policyholders first.
FEMA is committed to ensuring we pay every policyholder what they are due under their policy. Flood insurance plays a critical role in assisting survivors on their road to recovery. Like other types of insurance, it does not cover all losses but it is the first line of defense against a flood. While the payouts won’t make someone whole, our top priority is to ensure policyholders get what they are due.
Call Center Hotline
National Flood Insurance Program policyholders who have questions about their policy, a claim or the claims process can contact the call center at 800-621-3362 (select option 2) to talk to a representative. You can also contact the call center by email (to FEMA-NFIP-Support@fema.dhs.gov) or fax (540-504-2360).
Representatives will be on hand to answer your questions. Please have this information available when you call.
- Contact information (name, telephone number or email address, if applicable).
- Policy number.
- Name of flood insurance carrier.
- The nature of your request.
This information will help the representative answer your questions quickly and efficiently.
Working with Partners
The Government Accountability Office is working with us to identify and develop options for reform, including utilizing GAO's past recommendations. We will continue to work closely with Congress, and federal, state, local, and community officials to ensure policyholders are paid every dollar for which they are eligible and to improve transparency in the flood insurance program going forward.
The agency will make more changes in the near future as we continue the evaluation of additional reforms.
Fact Sheet
This page contains a weekly fact sheet for National Flood Insurance policyholders who were affected by Hurricane Sandy.