With two months to go to the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, a federal task force created after the storm has issued a report that’s getting a lot of media coverage.
The plan includes 69 policy initiatives, of which a major recommendation is to build stronger buildings to better withstand future extreme storms amid a changing climate.
Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and chair of the task force, notes:
The report makes clear that rebuilding to outdated standards is no longer an option given the impact of climate change and rising sea levels:
One section of the plan focuses on addressing insurance challenges, understanding and affordability.
Specifically, the taskforce recommends: streamlining payouts to policyholders in the wake of disaster; improving policyholder awareness of factors that affect flood risk and insurance rating decisions; and studying affordability challenges of flood insurance as the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) transitions toward full risk rates.
PC360 has more on this story.
Check out I.I.I. facts and statistics on flood insurance here.