National Flood Insurance Protection for Erosion Related Losses

For a property owner, the insurance factor of erosion is calculated by the National Flood Insurance Program (NIFP), which was created by Congress in 1968 through the National Flood Insurance Act. The program was created to help communities provide insurance protection against flooding related losses, including erosion, to properties at risk. In order to participate in the program a community must establish a floodplain management ordinance to dictate how residents should follow regulations set forth by the program in their particular community.

Different susceptible areas are scored according to their vulnerability, with their rating influencing the type of insurance that can be attained. For example, many homes built close to the beach on the Cape fall within a ‘Velocity Zone’ (V zone), which is defined as the portion of the 100-year floodplain that would be inundated by tidal surges with the velocity wave action of a 3-foot breaking wave[i] and must abide by certain regulations in order to qualify for insurance.

Delineation of a Velocity Zone as defined by the National Flood Insurance Program.

According the NIFP regulation (44 CFR 60.3(c)(5)) if a home is within a ‘Velocity Zone’ (V zones) [ii] then it is required to abide by the following regulations:

  1. “Obtain the elevation (in relation to mean sea level) of the bottom of the lowest structural member of the lowest floor…of all new and substantially improved structures… and maintain a record of all such information…”
  2. “Provide that all new construction within V zones… is located landward of the reach of mean high tide.”
  3. “Provide that all new construction and substantial improvements… be elevated on pilings and columns… to or above the base flood level, and the pile or column foundation and structured attached thereto is anchored to resist flotation, collapse, and lateral movement…”
  4. “Provide that the space below the lowest floor be either free of obstruction or constructed with non-supporting breakway walls, open wood latticework, or insect screening intended to collapse under wind and water loads…” so that incoming water is unimpeded to move under the house.
  5. “Prohibit the use of fill for structural support of buildings within V zones.”
  6. “Prohibit man-made alteration of sand dunes and mangrove stands within V zones which would increase potential flood damage”[iii]

These policies try to ensure that incoming water can move freely despite the presence of the house, which is why they require houses that are newly built or renovated to be elevated by pilings or columns and have no obstructions under the house. This regulation has been criticized because while it sets stringent guidelines that must be followed by homeowners who choose to live in vulnerable coastal areas it has also had the unintended affect of encouraging people to locate to these areas because they can now get insurance coverage. Prior to the NFIP, homeowners were unable to get insurance to cover flood related losses by private insurance carriers, placing the sole responsibility on the property owner. By being able to gain coverage through the NFIP, more people can live these areas. This is problematic because the property risk is mitigated thereby increasing the likelihood that flood-prone properties will be occupied by people who are least likely to be in a position to recover from flood related disasters.

Additionally, it encourages people to live along the coastline in a way that it has not been traditionally developed. In recent decades there has been a ecologically unsound trend to live closer to the ocean, which is counter to where people historically would have built their homes. As Bill Fitts, a Provincetown resident discusses, Cape Codders tried to build their homes in places that would maximize their safety from coastal processes like flooding and erosion. Programs like the NFIP, which aim to help homeowners alleviate the risks from these processes, should be examined critically for the ways in which they reinforce homeowner’s abilities to live in these areas and how it has influenced development on Cape Cod.

[i] National Research Council (U.S.). Managing Coastal Erosion. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1990.

[ii] “FEMA: NFIP Publications.” Federal Emergency Management Agency. Web. 21 Nov. 2009. <http://www.fema.gov/business/nfip/libfacts.shtm#5>.

[iii] National Flood Insurance Program (U.S.). National Flood Insurance Program: Standard Flood Insurance Policy. [Washington, D.C.]: U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, FEMA, 2004.

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