FEMA picks Milliman to help redesign flood products for NFIP

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has contracted actuarial consulting firm Milliman to redesign flood insurance products across the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Milliman will provide innovative modeling and pricing techniques to FEMA in order to design a new rating plan for NFIP policies nationwide.

The NFIP provides flood coverage to more than 5.2 million homeowners across the US. The programme was set to expire on Sept. 30 but the deadline has been extended until Dec. 8, 2017. The US House of Representatives has passed a bill reauthorising the NFIP with some amends.

FEMA stated that Milliman's modelling and new rating techniques "will allow the agency to better understand and price flood risk on a granular level nationwide."

Nancy Watkins, a Milliman principal and project lead, said: "The NFIP has a wealth of knowledge and experience with the flood peril, and their resources combined with our innovative technology will allow them to design a flood insurance solution for the 21st century.

"Our goal is to help modernise the NFIP's insurance product, reflect industry best practices, and improve policyholder experience through increased transparency and a better understanding of risk."

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