FEMA aid policy must be clarified to public entities

WE'RE ALL FOR governmental accountability, particularly when it comes to mitigating and insuring against disasters. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency's modified policy on when and how much aid a public sector entity may receive after certain federally declared disasters may be taking accountability to an unrealistic limit.

As we report on page 1, FEMA says that public entities could face a partial or total loss of federal disaster aid to cover their uninsured losses if they suffer repeated losses from the same peril, such as flooding. But exactly how this would work is puzzling some risk managers, brokers and others.

That's troubling. Although a mechanism exists for public entities that can't find adequate capacity to assure a continuation of disaster aid, not all state insurance regulators understand how the certification process should work. This could leave some public entities facing huge losses without hope of coverage.

FEMA has reached out to the risk management community, but its message is not clear to all. We believe more outreach is needed to clarify what the changes mean and how risk managers can deal with them. Accountability is key to good government, but public entities must know exactly what they are accountable for before they can achieve that goal.

For reprints of this story, please contact Lauren Melesio at 212-210-0707 or email lmelesio@crain.com