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Flood Insurance Get
a quote
FEMA
Flooding as a national problem
Until the late 1960s, most property owners were unable to get
insurance against flood damage. Private insurance firms, aware of the
potential for catastrophic losses were unwilling to assume the financial
risk. This put the burden on taxpayers to provide costly disaster relief
to a growing number of flood victims.
In 1968, Congress addressed this issue by creating the National Flood
Insurance Program (NFIP). This federal program provides flood insurance
at a reasonable cost in exchange for the careful management of
flood-prone areas by local communities.
Today the NFIP serves over 4 million customers in over 18,000
communities across the country. It is administered by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through its Federal Insurance
Administration. To become eligible, a community first enters the
emergency phase of the NFIP by adopting preliminary actions to reduce
the threat of flooding. Everyone in the community can then apply for
limited amounts of flood insurance at federally subsidized rates.
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