Federal/National News

For an update of the latest disaster declarations: CLICK HERE

For information on Flood Insurance Reform – Rates and Refunds: CLICK HERE

Advisor Update

FEMA Updates for FMA Board:

• A Federal continuing resolution was passed on

September 30, 2022, averting a government shutdown and extending authorization for the National

Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until November 16, 2022. The new funding law also includes almost $19 billion for FEMA disaster relief. • Widespread damage in Florida and South

Carolina from flooding during Hurricane Ian is resulting in insured losses at over $50 billion. The

President declared a major disaster with FEMA now authorized to help individuals in 13 counties pay for temporary housing, home repairs, and with low-interest loans to cover uninsured losses.

Unfortunately the lack of insurance will make disaster suffering worse. • Funding for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and

Communities (BRIC) program more than doubled to nearly $2.3 billion this year while Flood

Mitigation Assistance (FMA) sees an increase to $800 million. • Disclosing flood risk during real estate transactions is a timely and effective way to raise awareness and drive risk-informed decisions. FEMA has created the

Flood Risk Disclosure: Model State Requirements for

Disclosing Flood Risk During Real Estate Transactions resource to help states and tribes develop or refine existing real estate disclosure laws or mandated disclosure forms to strengthen their flood risk disclosure mechanisms. A report is available on FEMA’s website. • A report on ecosystem values with an updated set of land cover categories for FEMA’s BCA toolkit was issued. This work recognizes the value of investing in nature-based solutions for mitigating the impacts of development in floodplains, wildfire urban interface, etc. • FEMA is publishing updated standards and guidance for Risk MAP around November 2022. Current guidelines and standards are online. • All flood insurance policies and renewals under the NFIP continue to transition to updated Risk Rating 2.0 rates.