A Way Forward on Flood Insurance?

In the mess that is flood insurance in the U.S., a bright spot emerged late last month when First Street Foundation released a major report on the issue, along with a model that will go a long way toward making assessment of flood risk more accurate and transparent.

The report serves first and foremost as a wake-up call. It says, for instance, that 70% more homes are within a “100-year” flood zone than are designated as such by the the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That means 6 million households face flood risks they don’t anticipate, yet aren’t eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program... continue reading >