Not only do people need a better understanding of flood insurance, but also a better understanding of mitigation efforts; steps they can take to prevent or minimize flooding, and reduce the potential damage. Sandbags, inflatable barriers, and landscaping are just some ways people can prepare for a flood. Both the NFIP policy and the new ISO Personal Flood Policy provide up to $1000 for steps taken to protect the insured building from flood or imminent danger of flood. The $1,000 is provided for the cost of sandbags and sand to fill them, fill for temporary levees, pumps, and plastic sheeting and lumber used in connection with these items. As most insureds do not read their policies, it is likely that most are unaware of these coverage benefits for mitigation of damages.

 With the concern surrounding the NFIP, carriers are beginning to issue private flood policies. Chubb is one carrier that has a flood policy, with limits up to $15 million on property, much higher than the NFIP limits of $250,000. ISO has developed both a Commercial and Personal Flood program, both available this year. The expansion of available coverage should be a tremendous help in getting homeowners insured. However, education of agents and the public is key.

 Better analytics is helping to make private coverage possible; instead of just referring to the standard flood maps, which may still be out of date, there are companies providing better analysis of property that includes rainfall, local topography, elevation, susceptibility to hurricanes not just for rains but winds and storm surge as well.

 While flood insurance can be expensive in some areas, in many areas it is not that expensive. However the common myth is that any flood insurance is prohibitively expensive, so people do not investigate the options for coverage.

 Another issue is construction itself. Builders resist changes to codes to make properties safer, while continuing to want to rebuild in areas that have been flooded. If building is going to occur in such areas, the buildings need to be built in a way to protect the property as much as possible from flooding. People also get a false sense of security from the fact that the town has allowed buildings to be constructed in low-lying areas, figuring that if zoning approved of the area it must be safe to construct a home in that area.

 Yet another large issue is the misperception of the 100-year flood. Many people believe that this means that the chance of their property being flooded is one in 100 years. What it really means is that every year there is a 1 percent chance of flood. This puts the property at significant risk, as not only do 100 year storms need to be accounted for, but other storms as well.

The overarching issue is how to educate both the public and the industry on flood mitigation techniques and the availability of insurance coverage. The industry needs to inform people of not only what their risk is but also the available risk evaluation tools, mitigation techniques, and available coverage. Agents and brokers need to be well informed in order to proactively change the narrative of flooding and coverage.