NAMIC applauds recent disaster policy reforms

There may be only weeks left in the 2019 hurricane season, but as we all know, these final weeks are often the most perilous. Here, the eye of Hurricane Dorian is seen from the International Space Station. (Photo: Nick Hague/NASA)

With just weeks left in the 2019 hurricane season, we’re entering what could be the most important time for resiliency in the history of our nation. Years of effort by the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), its partners in the BuildStrong Coalition, and numerous other stakeholders in insurance, building and environmental advocacy efforts have begun to pay off with a dramatic change in how our government views natural disasters.

When it comes to extreme weather, much of the debate in Washington and elsewhere is focused on climate change and its potential or actual causes. But the policy for actually addressing how we deal with disasters has been largely unchanged: Communities build and develop; they get hit by a disaster; Congress or state legislatures pass aid packages to help the victims rebuild, which in many cases is to the same outdated standards that contributed to a home’s destruction; and the cycle starts anew.