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Newport News Program for Public Information
Target Audience 3: Property owners without flood insurance in the SFHA
Per the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and the National Flood Insurance
Reform Act of 1994, homes and businesses in high-risk flood areas (SFHAs) with
mortgages from federally regulated, supervised, and insured lenders are required to
have flood insurance. As noted in Section III of this plan, as of April 2023 only 368
(37.3%) of the 987 properties located within the FEMA-designated SFHA carry a NFIP
flood Insurance policy. Given that flood insurance is available through the private
insurance market, the possibility of private insurance coverage cannot be definitively
ruled out; however, the dominant insurer in the market is the NFIP.
The PPI committee identified narrowing the insurance gap for those in the SFHA as
a high priority. This PPI can support this by increasing awareness of the mandatory
purchase requirement and options to reduce flood deductibles to address
affordability concerns.
Target Audience 4: Real Estate, Lenders, and Insurance Entities
These three specific stakeholder groups consistently work with home and business
owners and have the best opportunity to provide information when it is needed.
These groups need to be informed of what data the City has available to help
residents make better decisions on home buying and asset protection. These groups
are often relied upon to provide accurate information and consequently need as
much, or more, information on flooding as the average citizen. The PPI Committee
will make sure this group is informed and equipped with the tools needed to convey
flood risk and flood insurance information to residents and business owners. This
group needs resources and information that they can easily share with their clients.
Target Audience 5: Property owners (City-wide) & Renters
Because floods can happen almost anywhere, including outside of the 1% annual
chance floodplain, the PPI Committee wanted to make sure that there was a general
focus on flood preparedness for all the public within the City of Newport News. This
includes targeting residents in moderate-risk areas (Zone X Shaded) and the low-risk
areas (Zone X Unshaded). Members of the public living in moderate to low-risk areas
must understand that low risk does not mean no risk.
Renters currently make up the majority of Newport News’ households at around
39,300 or 53% compared to the nearly 35,600 or 47% who are homeowners (Newport
News Economic Development Authority, 2023). Chances are, they have renter’s
insurance but don’t realize that their policy is leaving them exposed in the event of a
flood. While their landlord may have flood insurance to cover their building, their
rental insurance will not cover flood damage to their personal belongings. Only a
separate food insurance policy can cover items damaged in a flood. As such, efforts
to communicate and encourage renters to acquire flood insurance content
coverage is essential to the City’s resilience. The NFIP offers affordable, renters flood
insurance coverage. Renters flood insurance can cover up to $100,000 in damage to
belongings and help residents more quickly recover.
STEP 2: ASSESS THE COMMUNITY’S PUBLIC INFORMATION NEEDS 17Jump to an indexed page (59 of 59)