The Federal Association for Insurance Reform (“FAIR”), a Florida-based advocacy group, has said that it has expanded nationally and has committed to reducing uninsured flood risk across the United States.
FAIR is chaired by a former president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and a former insurance commissioner for Florida, Kevin McCarty.
In a statement, FAIR said that recognizing flood risk as the most common natural disaster across the country and mobilizing resources to reduce property loss through better insurance coverage and proactive mitigation was a natural extension of FAIR's work over the past 10 years.
“Closing the flood protection gap is critical to the stability of property and insurance markets across the country. FAIR's national expansion and dedication of resources to address flood risk throughout the United States exemplifies our commitment to educate and protect all Americans against flood risk,” Mr. McCarty said.
In the United States, flooding causes billions in economic losses each year. According to the National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”), 90 percent of all natural disasters in the United States involve flooding. Floods have impacted all 50 states in the past five years. And, yet, a recent Insurance Information Institute survey found that only 15 percent of Americans are covered by flood insurance.
“American home and business owners are more vulnerable to flooding than any other natural disaster, yet there are currently just over five million residential flood polices nationwide,” said FAIR's president and chief executive officer, Jay Neal. “Modeling experts project that there should be as many as 40 million policies in force to adequately protect vulnerable properties. Achieving that goal will require both a strong National Flood Insurance Program and a robust private market.”
FAIR's sister organization, the FAIR Foundation is a 501c(3) non-profit entity that aims to educate consumers nationwide on flood, storm surge, sea level rise, and other natural disaster risks as well as to promote resiliency through mitigation and adequate insurance coverage.
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].