Town of Utica, Miss. joins National Flood Insurance Program
ATLANTA, GA – February 24, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — The town of Utica in Hinds County, Miss. is now a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which means those living and working in the town can purchase federally-underwritten flood insurance.
Flooding is the most common and costliest nature disaster in the U.S. Standard homeowner’s, business owner’s, and renter’s insurance doesn’t cover flood damage, so a separate flood insurance policy can provide property owners with financial protection against the devastating effects of flooding.
On February 10, Utica joined nearly 21,000 communities participating in the NFIP nationwide. The NFIP does more than make flood insurance available; it also supports local communities in their efforts to reduce the risk and consequences of serious flooding. In order to participate in the program, a community must agree to adopt and enforce sound floodplain management regulations and ordinances to reduce future flood damage. In exchange for these practices, flood insurance is available to homeowners, business owners and renters in participating communities.
Even if you don’t live in an area at high-risk of flooding, you should still consider flood insurance because anyone can be financially vulnerable to floods. People outside of high-risk areas file more than 20 percent of NFIP claims and receive one-third of disaster assistance for flooding.
The NFIP is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency which works with nearly 90 private insurance companies to provide affordable flood insurance to property owners and renters in NFIP-participating communities. Flood insurance policies may be written by state-licensed property and casualty insurance agents.
For more information on the National Flood Insurance Program, visit www.floodsmart.gov.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
