Hurricane’s & FEMA — Big Changes on Tap

The hurricane season is here.

Scientists are predicting 17 above average storms and four major hurricanes. So it’s going to be an interesting hurricane year. David Richardson is the new acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As you know, his organization regularly steps in and funds recovery.

That won’t totally change but the administration is planning some remodeling of the agency. Richardson calls what we’re going to see, FEMA 2.

“FEMA 2 will look different than FEMA 1,” Richardson told the FEMA staff in an all-call. “There will be much more emphasis on the states to do response and recovery, to some degree preparedness as well.”

In the meeting, Richardson told his staff to let the governors they deal with know they will be sharing the costs of the storms.

“I said, ‘Hey, when you talk to the governor, give them a heads up that 50/50 might be coming. It’s 75/25 right now, but 50/50’s coming,'” Richardson said. “So part of it is letting people know as we transition, okay, that if it doesn’t happen this year, it will very, very likely happen next year.”

That said, there will be times when the states can’t deal with the entire cost. In those cases, FEMA will step in with more money.

This is an ongoing issue. Weekly Industry News will keep you posted.

Source link: Insurance Journal — https://bit.ly/4kloctk