FEMA NFIP leaders tell Connecticut forum: "Where it rains, it can flood" and most homeowners' policies exclude flood damage

Representatives of the National Flood Insurance Program and private insurers briefed the Connecticut Insurance and Real Estate Committee on Jan. 30 about how flood insurance works and why homeowners and renters should consider buying it.

The National Flood Insurance Program, created by Congress in 1968, was described as a federal public–private effort to identify risk, enforce floodplain management, mitigate flood losses and provide insurance to property owners. "My name is Butch Kurnerney. I am the chief of partnerships and outreach at the NFIP," said Butch Kurnerney, introducing FEMA's national overview. Kurnerney and other panelists repeatedly summarized a central message: "where it rains, it can flood." (Eric George; Butch Kurnerney).

Panelists emphasized that most standard homeowners and renters policies exclude flood perils and that flood coverage must be purchased separately. Kurnerney noted that just one inch of water can cause roughly $25,000 of damage to a home and that flood events account for the majority of costly natural disasters nationally. He also described the NFIP's four-part mission: identify flood risk, enforce floodplain management, invest in mitigation, and provide insurance.

The panel outlined basic NFIP benefits and limits: residential building coverage up to $250,000 and contents coverage up to $100,000 (higher limits for commercial policies), a typical 30-day waiting period before a new policy takes effect, and that NFIP payments are insurance claims rather than loans. Kurnerney said claims payments are handled through private participating companies in the NFIP "write your own" program or through FEMA's direct program.

Speakers also contrasted flood insurance with federal disaster assistance: disaster grants require a presidential declaration and have strict eligibility rules and much lower maximums for home repairs (the panel cited $41,000 as a typical cap for disaster grants), while NFIP policyholders can file claims regardless of a federal declaration.

The national briefing closed with outreach guidance and references to consumer resources (floodsmart.gov) and insurer agent networks that sell NFIP policies.

Ending: Panelists urged Connecticut property owners, renters and business owners to discuss flood coverage with their agents and to consider mitigation steps to reduce risk.