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| 2012 NFDA Annual Conference Wrap-Up |
May 2012 |
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The NFDA promotes the common interests of stakeholders involved with flood risk information through education, industry standards and a collaborative approach to legislative issues. |
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The NFDA again thanks those who could join us for the 15th Annual Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona from April 1-3, 2012. It was an informative, engaging and entertaining several days. We had the largest crowd to date with nearly 90 participants representing a wide variety of industries. The NFDA extends a special thank you again to the generous conference sponsors: Moye White, DigitalGlobe, ThoughtFocus, Fox Rothschild, Visionet, RAMPP, Torrent Technologies, Kroll Factual Data and Zimmerman Associates (See attached document for additional information on our sponsors).
Dennis Kuhns, Director of Risk Insurance at FEMA, discussed the State of the NFIP and the 2011 flooding picture. Overall the NFIP received about 70,000 claims, 61,000 of those from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. This is the largest number of claims since 2008 when Hurricanes Gustav and Ike hit the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Irene, in particular, was an unusual hurricane because of its vast swath.
Adjusting for inflation and for the growth and changes in the distribution of the flood insurance business, 2011 will likely come out as the NFIP's 10th worst year since 1977. The NFIP is expecting about $1.8B in flood claims for 2011, and while that level is above average and represents a strain for the Program, it appears at this time that the NFIP will not need to borrow money in order to cover the 2011 expenses.
Roy Wright, Deputy Director of the Risk Analysis Division within FEMA, discussed
the role of Risk MAP in providing more accurate flood maps, risk assessment tools, and outreach support. He also discussed how the current strategy builds upon the Map Modernization initiatives by maintaining quality data, helping to improve mitigation plans and strengthening local ability to make informed decisions about reducing risk. By ensuring high quality data, FEMA can address data gaps and ensure that the underlying technical information on the flood maps is current. Risk MAP has expanded the outreach activities during new studies to increase local officials' awareness of flood risk in their respective communities.
FEMA is also actively developing a cost-effective, flexible approach to dealing with non-accredited levee scenarios that will better leverage local knowledge and data and consider the unique flooding and levee characteristics of each subject area.
Bruce Bender gave an update on the FloodSmart outreach campaign and discussed opportunities for NFDA stakeholders to participate with FloodSmart through the Community Resources program. Community partners and insurance agents have access to numerous tools that help with outreach and risk communication, from video testimonials and tools for levee simulation to flood damage scenarios and downloadable materials for agents. Several coastal risk-related tools will soon be available, as well. Check out www.floodsmart.gov for more information.
 Merrie Inderfurth, NFDA Washington Liaison, reported that flood insurance reform legislation appears to be stalled. Essentially no action has been taken since H.R. 1309 passed the House last summer and S. 1940 was reported out of the Senate Banking Committee in September 2011 and filed in December. In February, a letter to Senate Majority and Minority leaders, signed by 41 Senators, urged that S. 1940 be brought to the Senate floor for consideration and action. In the meantime, NFIP authorization is set to expire on May 31st unless action is taken before then; numerous stakeholders including FEMA, ASFPM and the NFDA are calling for a two-year reauthorization to ensure that the NFIP remains operational while Congress continues to work through the important reform legislation. Other items discussed in this presentation included Budget and Appropriations, Mapping Matters, Other Legislative Activity and related Mapping Coalition activity.
The "NFIP Hot Topics" panel session, moderated by Bruce Bender and involving a panel of experts representing key NFIP stakeholder groups, discussed concerns and recommendations for improving the NFIP in the context of proposed flood insurance reform legislation. The distinguished panel of experts included Scott Giberson of NFDA, Chad Berginnis of ASFPM, Jennifer Rath of Allstate Insurance Company, Tom Santos of AIA, Amy Dirksen of Wells Fargo, Misty Heath of USAA Federal Savings Bank, and Paul Huang of FEMA.
 Steve Murchison, NFDA Vice President, discussed the importance of NFDA's mission and goals as well as the significance of the data collected from NFDA's annual member survey. Amy Dirksen, NFDA Board Director and Membership Committee Chairperson, discussed the association's new membership levels and drive to expand membership to include additional industry stakeholders in 2012 and beyond. For more information about NFDA membership and to become a member, please contact the Membership Committee: membership@nfdaflood.com.
John Dorman, Director of the Geospatial & Technology Management Office within the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management, and Leslie Durham, Director of the Alabama Office of Water Resources, presented the latest developments in statewide digital imagery for natural hazards. North Carolina is embarking on a comprehensive Digital Flood Risk initiative for which the proof of concept has been approved. They have also begun partnering with other states that want to begin implementing "true digital" and "true flood risk" into their land management and planning procedures, that include Virginia, South Carolina and Alabama. Leslie Durham discussed the benefits of this technology database for Alabama, which is a great example of a state with a small budget that has been able to effectively leverage the technology and partnership with North Carolina to better manage the state's flood risks.
The "Mapping Interests" panel session, moderated by Michael Bremer of NFDA/CoreLogic Flood Services and involving experts representing mortgage lending, insurance and FEMA, was another open-forum discussion to address flood mapping- and data-related initiatives and challenges. Specific discussion topics included FEMA's coastal mapping initiatives and their impact on various stakeholder groups, continued challenges for lenders and insurance providers related to flood zone discrepancies and grandfathering as maps continue to be revised, data availability from FEMA and how improved communication is making processes for flood determination companies and their clients much easier and implications of FEMA's recent bulletin related to insurance coverage restrictions for buildings constructed over water. The distinguished panel of experts included Jeffrey Woodward, Paul Huang and Ed Curtis of FEMA, Misty Heath of USAA Federal Savings Bank, Teresa Johnston of Torrent Technologies, Patty Latshaw of American Bankers Insurance Company and Greg Vassaur of LandSafe Flood Services.
Neal Schaffer of Windmills Marketing gave some valuable insight into understanding, leveraging and maximizing social media for business. He discussed tools such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and how to effectively use them for business purposes. Neal also made recommendations for companies to mitigate legal risks by instituting social media policies. Neal is an international social media speaker who is known for several critically-acclaimed books on the use of social media fo rbusinesses and is working on yet another. For more information about Neal and available publications, visit http://windmillnetworking.com/.
Back by popular demand, this year's legal panel proved to be as informative and beneficial as in the past. The panel of flood determination industry legal experts consisted of Scott Giberson of NFDA/CoreLogic Flood Services, Tom List of Moye White and NFDA General Counsel, Mark Alexander
session of Balch & Bingham LLP and Marc Lovell of Harlin Parker Attorneys at Law. Several pertinent topics were discussed, including recent case law and how decisions impact the flood determination industry, strategies to protect business interests and maximize the potential to prevail in litigation by considering prior case law and choosing defense attorneys who are experienced in the subject state.
We look forward to seeing you March 24-26, 2013 for NFDA's 16th Annual Conference, which will again be held at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. More information will be available in the coming months, but any questions about next year's conference or the NFDA in general can be directed to info@nfdaflood.com.
   
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