RAA PRESIDENT URGES NATIONAL FLOOD CONFERENCE TO THINK INNOVATIVELY ABOUT FLOOD RISKS

WASHINGTON, June 8 (TNSpp) -- The Reinsurance Association of America issued the following news release on June 6, 2023:

Yesterday, Frank Nutter, president of the Reinsurance Association of America, urged attendees at the National Flood Conference in Washington, D.C. to think innovatively about flood risks.

On the opening day of the conference, co-sponsored by the RAA and the APCIA, and attended by close to 900 professionals, Mr. Nutter highlighted the increasing risks of flooding: (a) it's an almost daily occurrence somewhere in the U.S.; (b) 90% of all natural disasters involve some flood loss; (c) the cost to taxpayers since 2000 has been more than $850 billion. Yet despite these unnerving statistics, Mr. Nutter noted that many taxpayers are either underinsured or uninsured, resulting in challenging and costly recovery efforts in the aftermath of such events.

In his remarks, Mr. Nutter suggested different approaches to managing flood risk such as exploring community-based flood coverage rather than just property-specific flood insurance; encouraging insurers and insurance regulators to explore development of all perils or a multi-peril policy, including flood coverage, for homeowners and small businesses; reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) on a long term basis to include amendments to incentivize the private flood insurance market and increase risk-sharing opportunities with the NFIP; and lastly, lobby Congress to increase funding for buyouts of high risk and repetitive loss areas.

In closing, Mr. Nutter commented, "The risks of flooding will not go away, and taxpayers deserve the economic and social protections that insurance and government programs can provide because floods impact every taxpayer, not just those directly impacted by flooding."

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Original text here: https://www.reinsurance.org/Press_Releases/RAA_President_Urges_Innovative_Thinking_About_Flood_Risks/