If the name Andrea doesn't mean anything to you it may meansomething soon, especially for those of us residing along the Eastor Gulf Coasts of the United States. It's the first name to appearon the Weather Service's 2013 Atlantic Hurricane season list, andI, for one, hope it will not be as memorable a season as lastyear.

As a victim still in recovery from Superstorm Sandy I have akeen interest in discussions about risk mitigation andrecovery—especially in New York City. So when attending Friday's“KickingOff Hurricane Preparedness Season 2013” symposium, I had alittle more than a journalist's interest in what New York officialshad to say about the recovery. I don't feel I learned a lot new. Ilive here and have done my best to keep tabs on the city's plansand progress.

However, there was one subject gone unmentioned. Yes, the cityhas its federal money. Residents and businesses have an opportunityto get financial help through loans and grants. But the panelistsdidn't discuss one big-budget expense looming for individualbusinesses and homeowners: affordability.

Howard Kunreuther, co-director of the Wharton Risk Managementand Decision Processes Center, and one of the symposium'spanelists, spoke after the meeting. He commended New York City fortaking the initiative and planning for the next calamity. Takeaction now, he says, while people are still paying attention, andeducate them not only about being ready for the next one but alsoin the value of having insurance. Too often, he believes, as adisaster recedes from memory, so does the take-up rate forinsurance—especially flood.

However, people in New York—and New Jersey—face a dilemma withflood-insurance rates set to rise: how to afford higher premiumswhile mitigating flood risk?

Kunreuther advocates developing a means-tested voucher programto help those in need. It would serve two purposes. One—helpindividuals pay for coverage for a limited period of years.Second—it would be an incentive for people to mitigate their riskor face the full weight of increase at the end of the voucherperiod. If they have done the work, their reward will be discountedrates.

Kunreuther is an advocate of free markets, saying thatregulators need to allow insurers to charge adequate rates forinsurance if they expect the markets to prosper. But, rates alsoneed to be affordable. Without changes, he says, adoption ofrisk-based principals will be a “non-starter,” adding there has“got to be a better way to deal this this.”

“We have to let everyone know how hazardous the risk is,something that many of low income do not realize, and we need toencourage the mitigation of risk,” says Kunreuther.

He is not naïve about the challenge and is well aware that theindustry has a problem with its reputation. He believes the bestway for the industry to address this is through transparency.

But will the industry cooperate?

One listener to Friday's discussion scoffed at the idea ofinsurance as an investment against risk. The listener has her ownissues with her insurer who doesn't want to pay the loss becausethe company contends it was not flood, but seepage. Then there'sthe issue of the sump pumps that ceased working because of thepower outage and a rider that excludes coverage for that failure.She feels insurers have the cards stacked against the policyholderby adding cryptic and contradictory language into policies aimed atnot paying for claims. Luckily the sponsor of this event is not hercarrier.

Joan Woodward, president of the Travelers Institute andmoderator of Friday's panel discussion at the NYSE, says theinsurer is launching a two-year effort to educate the public aboutinsurance. The one thing she says Travelers learned from Sandy isthat consumers need it.

One would hope other insurers plan to follow Travelers' lead,but it can't be a one-way conversation. A learning opportunity is aterrible thing to waste.