Flood insurance and relief in the U.S. and Britain

ABSTRACT

Whithin the broad range od strategies available for hazardreduction, insurance and relief focus on loss redistribution, rather than loss reduction. The use of these measures will affect every part of the flood hazard management process. Successful inplementation requires that they not be treated in isolation from other mitigation measures and thier social context. This paper briefly examines the different roles goverment can adopt in loss redistribution. Two of the seven identified approaches are examined further using the United States and Britain as contrasting examples. At the federal level the United States presents an integrated program based on a national flood insurance scheme, which itself is tied to land-use regulation. Furthermore, the program ios administered by one central agency. The british approach, in contrast, appears un coordinated and adhoc. There are not implicit national flood-related policies or standard procedures for disaster relief. However, flood insurance is generally included in normal commercial and household cover. Relief relies heavily on public appeals. In turn, the success of these appealsvaries dramatically with the disaster. All approaches raise serious questions for industrialized countries about the proper role of goverment, about equity, and about the desirability of special disaster provisions. (AU)