Lessons Learned After Sandy and Possible Ways to Strengthen New York
AFTER SANDY: 35 POINTS
Lessons Learned After Sandy and Possible Ways to Strengthen New York
New York is not known as an epicenter for natural catastrophes. In 2011, tropical storms Irene and Lee caused widespread flooding in upstate New York. Entire communities were washed away. New Yorkers had not seen such dire circumstances in years. Then, just over a year later Sandy hit. Sandy was more than a tropical storm—commonly referred to as either a hurricane or a superstorm, depending on the circumstances— and hit densely populated Long Island, New York City, areas of Westchester County and other downstate areas. A disaster resulting in tens of thousands of claims is considered serious. Sandy resulted in nearly 500,000 claims in New York alone. It was an absolutely unprecedented number in the state. Sandy (as well as Irene and Lee) were flooding events. Flood insurance is not part of a standard homeowners or business policy and is predominantly available as a separate policy through the National Flood Insurance Program, which is administered by the federal government. Only 10 percent of individuals have purchased flood insurance in the Northeast. Many hit by Sandy, Irene and Lee had little or no coverage. All those involved in responding worked tirelessly to help those in need. There was truly a reservoir of goodwill. In the case of the insurance industry, 35,000 adjusters were deployed responding to the unprecedented number of claims paying billions of dollars to New Yorkers with the number of complaints standing at less than 1 percent.
Despite everyone’s tremendous efforts there are issues that exist. NYIA is looking to further the dialogue around disaster preparedness, response and recovery to make improvements for future times of crisis.
The New York Insurance Association hosted a Strengthen New York Disaster Preparedness and Flood Readiness Summit to engage the many stakeholders involved with assisting New Yorkers during emergencies in a dialogue. The purpose was to develop solutions to current issues and provide recommendations on how the state can be better prepared for disaster situations. The summit was held in two parts. First, on September 16 in Syracuse and then on September 18 in New York City. Four general topics were discussed: flooding and flood insurance, rebuilding for brighter tomorrows, education and preparation and better coordination and utilization of resources. The roundtable discussions at the summits provided great insights into both the challenges presented by disasters and opportunities for improvement. The participants at each roundtable represented a broad cross-section of many diverse organizations and government officials, all of whom play an important role in providing assistance to New Yorkers impacted by disasters. Disasters by their very nature are extremely difficult situations. It is not always easy to find solutions to the challenges presented. Our goal is to help New York best deal with crisis situations and improve coordination among the various organizations involved from both the public and private sector. NYIA drafted a white paper to advance 35 potential action items that were developed as a result of the summit.
These action items are borne from ideas proposed by participants at the summit and are offered for consideration. Prepare
1. All those involved in disaster response should participate in tabletop exercises simulating a disaster event.
2. Encourage New Yorkers to engage in a thorough evaluation of their risks and make certain they have the proper insurance for their homes, automobiles and businesses.
3. Educate people about the importance of discussing insurance coverage, including flood insurance, with their insurance agents.
4. Conduct public relations campaigns to reinforce and emphasize to New Yorkers the differences between various types of insurance, including what is and is not covered by each type.
5. Coordinate with the Federal Emergency Management Agency/National Flood Insurance Program (FEMA/NFIP) to encourage more New Yorkers to obtain flood insurance, particularly in flood prone areas.
6. Study the possibility of requiring homeowners in high-risk flood areas to obtain flood insurance as a condition of obtaining a homeowners policy.
7. Support federal efforts to create a “mitigation savings account” for individuals.
8. Consider replicating the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) government backstop mechanism for flood insurance.
9. Encourage the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) to examine its own disaster preparedness in the same manner it examines insurance companies’ disaster preparedness on a yearly basis.
10. Urge DFS to establish required emergency measures well in advance of future disasters.
11. Conduct annual meetings between DFS and insurance companies regarding actions that will be taken when a catastrophe occurs.
12. Include an insurance expert in the state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ process of working with counties to improve their disaster response efforts.
13. Encourage New York communities to maximize their ability to reduce the impact of flood insurance rates on its citizens through improvement of the locality’s community rating system (CRS).
14. Use the state’s floodplain management program to better train local code enforcement officers on flood requirements and obtain funding (perhaps state or federal) so it is more affordable for local officials to attend training sessions.
15. Homebuyers should access a flood insurance rate quote on a home as early in the process as possible. This information can be obtained by asking the seller for an elevation certificate and consulting with an agent.
Respond
16. Establish a communication relay system from the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to DFS and then to insurance companies during disasters.
17. Streamline access to affected areas for those responding to a disaster once an area is secure.
18. Implement procedures to ensure insurance adjusters can travel on highways and parkways—waiving any standard restrictions for commercial vehicles or non high occupancy vehicles.
19. Develop a process to ensure those providing assistance after a disaster are granted priority access to fuel.
20. Create a mechanism so all those in need of overnight accommodations are able to secure housing within a reasonable distance.
21. Establish a means for responders/insurance adjusters to access phone and data connections.
22. Provide insurance companies with an appropriate and adequate amount of time to adjust claims during a crisis.
23. Develop a registry of preapproved temporary company and independent adjusters, so these adjusters can be activated and utilized more quickly.
24. Explore methods for greater collaboration between adjusters for private insurers and NFIP.
25. FEMA/NFIP should create a means for insurance companies to electronically transmit the required denial of coverage to expedite a person’s eligibility for financial aid.
26. Municipalities should utilize the Web and social media to publicize the process for obtaining building permits and elevation certificates.
27. Amend the New York Highway Law to authorize municipalities to act quickly to eliminate a source of flooding that is on private property as well as make other statutory changes to ensure municipalities can most effectively and expediently respond to disasters.
Rebuild
28. Establish a process to examine New York’s building codes (with an emphasis on New York City’s codes) with an eye toward proposals for rendering properties more resistant to flood.
29. Amend the state’s building codes to incorporate standards for 500 year flood events.
30. Discourage development in high risk areas of the state where flooding is most prevalent and damage would be especially severe.
31. Encourage New York homeowners to utilize the hazard mitigation grant program. This would enable homeowners to raise their house— better protecting it and saving money on flood insurance rates.
32. Urge NFIP to recognize flood proofing of multi-family housing as qualified mitigation.
33. Attempt to identify and secure funding for hardening inlets.
34. Obtain insurance industry involvement in community reconstruction zones (CRZs) by both agents and insurance companies.
35. Recommend greater collaboration between the New York Bankers Association and DFS to identify who holds mortgages on abandoned property and then expedite the process of getting these properties ready for sale.
There are differing opinions on where personal responsibility ends and societal responsibility begins. In an ideal, balanced world there would be shared responsibility. Individuals cannot assume that someone else will come to their aid, but as a society we should assist those in need.
As was said at the outset: there are no easy solutions when it comes to catastrophes. The intent of the action items and other materials included is simply to further the conversation. The sources of the suggestions greatly varied and while NYIA may not specifically endorse certain concepts, we do think all ideas should be put forward in an effort to have an open, honest dialogue about how the state can better prepare, respond and recover from future disasters. We caution against isolating individual recommendations without examining the full context around the issue.
The key is that all parties are dedicated to working together for the betterment of the state and its residents as a whole. It serves no one to advance the agenda of one single entity. The stakes are simply too great when it comes to helping those in the midst of a crisis situation.
While we sincerely hope that a storm of the magnitude of Sandy never reaches our state’s borders again, we would be naive to think it’s unlikely. Unfortunately, it’s not a matter of if disaster will strike again, but when. What we do have control over is that we are adequately prepared and have a coordinated plan in place.
A full copy of NYIA’s white paper is available at www.nyia.org.
