National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies Applauds Announcement of Record-Breaking Mitigation Funding

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, Aug. 7 (TNSPol) -- The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies issued the following news release on Aug. 6, 2021:

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies today applauded the Biden administration's announcement that states across the nation will receive a record number of mitigation dollars to prepare for natural catastrophes.

Through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, $3.46 billion will be given to states to undertake risk-reducing mitigation activities. The HMGP funds were derived from a percentage of the cost of 59 disaster declarations issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As disasters continue to devastate communities across the nation - from severe wildfires, to wind, to flooding events - we have to continue doing all we can to ensure our homes and businesses are protected in the face of extreme climate risk," said Jimi Grande, NAMIC's senior vice president of government affairs and chairman of the BuildStrong Coalition. "And yesterday's announcement is an important and significant step toward that goal."

The new grant money will be divided by state, based on the amount of aid associated with COVID-19 that each received. It is noteworthy that these new resources are separate from those being allotted through FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program, which NAMIC played a critical role in helping create with the passage of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018. Yesterday's announcement also follows a recent announcement by the Biden administration that this year's round of BRIC funding will be doubled to $1 billion.

"For years, we have worked to foster an approach in Washington that ensures communities have the critical resources they need to prepare for devastating catastrophes," Grande said. "Yesterday's announcement that a record-breaking amount of mitigation funds will soon be available to communities across America is a sign of how far the nation has come."