VOICE OVER: Floods are the most common,
and most costly, natural disaster.
In fact, seventy-five percent
of declared disasters
in the United States involve flooding.
In times of disasters and emergencies
that are declared
by the United States President,
FEMA is able to help survivors
with their disaster-related needs.
The Individuals
and Households Program (IHP) is a
federal disaster assistance program
that helps survivors address their
uninsured or under-insured needs.
The program has two provisions:
Housing Assistance (HA) helps
with housing needs;
and Other Needs Assistance (ONA) helps
with needs such as clothing,
household appliances,
and other disaster-related expenses
that are necessary to recover
from the effects of a disaster.
The Group Flood Insurance Policy -
GFIP - may be considered after survivors
who have flood damage to their home
or to its contents.
The GFIP is a master flood insurance
policy that provides disaster survivors
a temporary means
to have flood insurance coverage.
The GFIP is good for a period of up
to three years and is reserved
for disaster survivors who reside
in a pre-identified area
that has a high probability of flooding.
Also, receiving a GFIP allows disaster
survivors to be in compliance
with federal regulations
when flood insurance is required
to be maintained.
At the end of the three years,
disaster survivors who participate
in the GFIP must purchase
and maintain their own flood insurance
in order to be eligible
for future federal disaster assistance
due to flood damage.
This video will explain why the GFIP was
created, how it is implemented,
and what the responsibilities are
for disaster survivors who participate
in GFIP, as well
as the administrative responsibilities
of FEMA, and State and Tribal partners.
The United States Congress has long been
mindful of the hardships caused
by floods.
In 1968, in light
of mounting flood losses
and escalating costs of disaster relief
to the taxpayers,
Congress created the National Flood
Insurance Program,
or NFIP to mitigate future flood losses
through sound,
community-enforced building
and zoning ordinances.
NFIP is administered by FEMA
and provides property owners
and renters access
to Federally-backed flood insurance
coverage that can be purchased
with set rates
through nearly 90 participating private
insurance companies.
Flood insurance
from the NFIP is available
to those residing in areas prone
to flooding, regardless
of a disaster event.
However, if there is a Presidentially
declared disaster
that includes flooding, the Individuals
and Households Program may offer
the GFIP.
Previously, the Flood Disaster
Protection Act of 1973 made the purchase
of flood insurance mandatory
for properties
in special flood hazard areas.
This requirement was further amended
by the National Flood Insurance Reform
Act - NFIRA - of 1996,
which requires individuals to purchase
and maintain flood insurance
as a condition
of receiving disaster assistance.
This is commonly referred to as the
"Flood Insurance Requirement."
Initially, FEMA awarded disaster
assistance to disaster survivors
to purchase flood insurance
on their own, but they often chose not
to do so.
To ensure that disaster survivors meet
the flood insurance requirement
for receiving disaster assistance,
the Administrator will withhold the
flood insurance premium payment
from the disaster assistance award.
For each eligible disaster survivor,
the premium amount is withheld
from the disaster assistance award
and submitted to the NFIP to pay
for an individual certificate
of coverage.
To be eligible for the GFIP,
disaster survivors must have flood
damage that was caused
by a Presidentially-declared major
disaster, reside
in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA),
and be referred for IHP.
A special flood hazard area is an area
that is at high-risk for flooding
and where flood insurance is required
as a condition
of receiving disaster assistance
through the IHP.
Not every applicant may be considered
for the GFIP, only those
with flood insurable losses
from a declared disaster event.
Disaster survivors living outside
special flood hazard areas are not
eligible for the GFIP nor can they
purchase a GFIP.
If they choose
to obtain flood insurance,
they may be able
to purchase it individually
through a private insurer
of their choosing.
The GFIP does not apply when:
flooding is not part
of the disaster declaration;
flooding is a part of the declaration,
but an applicant has no flood damage
to their home;
or an applicant has damage to items
that cannot be insured by the NFIP.
The term of the GFIP is three years
and begins after a sixty-day waiting
period from the disaster
declaration date.
Here's how it works:
a flood event receives a Presidential
disaster declaration.
The declaration date starts a 60-day
waiting period before eligible disaster
survivors may be issued a GFIP.
For example, if the event is declared
on July 1st, the GFIP becomes effective
on August 29th.
If the declaration is adjusted
at a later date
to add Individual Assistance programs,
FEMA will then begin the registration
period for survivors to apply
for disaster assistance.
But remember, the 60-day waiting period
for GFIP always coincides
with the original declaration date.
Following registration and inspection
of flood-damaged property,
survivors who receive disaster
assistance will be notified
if they are required
to purchase flood insurance
as a condition of receiving assistance.
The premium is paid on behalf
of the survivor to the NFIP,
which administers the GFIP.
The survivor's name
and property address are also provided.
The recipient's coverage becomes
effective 30-days after their name
and premium payment is received
by the NFIP.
For example, if the NFIP receives the
names and payments on August 20th,
the coverage is activated
September 19th.
If the 30-day waiting period precedes
the GFIP's effective date,
the coverage will have the same
effective date as the GFIP.
For instance, if the FEMA applicant's
information and premium payment were
received by the NFIP on July 15th,
the recipient's coverage does not become
effective until August 29th,
which is the same date
that GFIP becomes effective.
It is important
to know the GFIP will expire three years
from the effective date.
It takes a combined effort
between the Program administrator
and the NFIP to ensure
that eligible disaster survivors receive
GFIP coverage.
Survivors also have the responsibility
to assure that their needs are met.
The administrator is responsible
for determining
that a survivor's damaged dwelling is
eligible for GFIP coverage.
Eligibility is identified
by the National Emergency Management
Information System-NEMIS-a disaster
assistance processing system.
If eligible disaster survivors choose
to live at their flood-damaged
residence, the administrator is
responsible for notifying eligible
survivors, in writing,
of the flood insurance requirement.
The written notice also states
that failure to obtain flood insurance
may affect the ability
to receive any future federal
disaster assistance.
The administrator will withhold the
premium from each eligible survivor's
disaster assistance award.
Each eligible survivor's name
and premium payment must be submitted
together to the National Flood Insurance
Program to ensure proper identification
of those who are eligible for GFIP.
It is the responsibility of the NFIP,
upon receipt of the names
and premium payment,
to apply the 30-day waiting period
and then it will issue the flood
insurance certificate of coverage
to each eligible survivor.
The NFIP is also responsible
for addressing any questions
and claims made by survivors
who receive a GFIP.
The NFIP will send copies
of the certificates
to the Administrator along with a list
of the survivors as proof of insurance
for any covered flood loss during the
policy term.
Survivors who receive a GFIP have
responsibilities as well.
Survivors need
to make sure their contact information
is always up to date
by accessing their account
through DisasterAssistance.gov
or contacting the FEMA Helpline.
Once a year, notifications will be
mailed to remind survivors
of their GFIP coverage status
and to notify them
of the policy expiration date.
Notifications include a reminder
of the requirement to maintain coverage
by purchasing an individual flood
insurance policy no less
than 30-days before the expiration
of the GFIP.
Disaster survivors can voice any
questions or concerns regarding their
coverage by calling the telephone
numbers contained
within their notification letters.
Survivors need
to review every notification
to make sure they understand how their
property is covered by the GFIP
as explained in the certifications
and summaries of coverage sent
by the NFIP which include addendums
to what is and what is not covered.
If a survivor wants
to have more coverage than the GFIP,
they will need
to purchase their own flood insurance
and cancel participation in the GFIP.
They cannot have an individual flood
insurance policy and a GFIP
at the same time.
The rules of the GFIP apply differently
to disaster survivors who are classified
as homeowners or renters.
Homeowners must have flood insurance
coverage for the structure,
even if the damaged home is repaired
or is demolished and rebuilt.
As long as the address is located
in a special flood hazard area,
it will always carry the requirement
for flood insurance.
If an owner sells the home,
they are required
to inform the new owners
that they must maintain flood insurance
coverage to be eligible
for future disaster assistance.
Often, an individual flood insurance
policy can be assigned to a new owner
with no lapse in coverage.
However, the owner
of a property cannot transfer the GFIP
to a different property.
If the applicant is a renter,
they must contact FEMA,
as instructed in their notification
letters, to confirm that they are going
to continue residing
at the flood-damaged rental unit.
And as long as the renter resides
at the rental unit,
the renter must maintain flood insurance
coverage on their personal contents.
If the renter moves
from the rental unit,
they are no longer required
to maintain flood insurance
at that address.
The GFIP does not transfer
to subsequent renters
when the disaster survivor moves.
GFIP only applies
to residential property.
In addition, it is possible
for a property to have more
than one GFIP certificate.
The owner of the building can have a
certificate of coverage
for their property and any renters,
for example, who are renting a room
or a basement apartment from an owner
of the same property,
can have a certificate of coverage
for their contents.
If subsequent flooding occurs during the
GFIP term and causes property damage,
the survivors may file a claim
with the National Flood Insurance
Program against their individual
coverage through the GFIP,
regardless of a
Presidential declaration.
Homeowners have the option
of making a claim for their building,
contents or a combination of both.
Renters may only use the GFIP
for contents.
The amount of the GFIP coverage is
adjusted annually and is equal
to the Individuals
and Households Program's maximum,
which is based
on the Consumer Price Index.
So, the survivor's coverage amount may
change over the three-year term
of the GFIP.
When a claim is made against the GFIP,
a set low-cost deductible will be
applied separately
to building and/or contents loss.
During the second and third years
of coverage, notification letters are
sent to survivors participating
in the GFIP and two final notices will
be mailed at approximately sixty days
and forty-five days prior
to the expiration of the GFIP.
Upon expiration of the GFIP,
disaster survivors can purchase their
own flood insurance policy
from the NFIP.
Survivors may purchase any combination
of limits for their building and/or
contents, which is also subject
to the terms and conditions
of a standard flood insurance policy.
The purchase should be made prior
to the expiration date,
but no later than 30 days before the
expiration of the GFIP
to avoid a lapse in coverage.
FEMA's GFIP ensures
that eligible disaster survivors will
have a safety net to recover
from future flood damage as well
as comply with the flood insurance
requirement when living
in a special flood hazard area.
No one can control
when a flood might occur
or how severe its impact may be,
but homeowners and renters can prepare
against its destructive effects.
Flood insurance is the best defense
against a greater financial loss
resulting from flooding.
For more information
about disaster assistance programs,
visit DisasterAssistance.gov
or call Toll Free 1-800-621-3362,
including 711 or Video Relay Service
or TTY at 1-800-462-7585.
Information about flood insurance can be
found by visiting FloodSmart.gov.