The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched the Interim Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate, which will be operational effective Dec. 22, 2014.
Acting Flood Insurance Advocate, David Stearrett, will lead the Interim Office, which specializes in assisting clients and policyholders on National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) issues and is an independent office within FEMA with direct alignment to the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA) associate administrator and the FEMA administrator. This Interim Office will operate until a permanent Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate is established in accordance with Section 24 of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (subject to budget resources).
"Floods are the most common disaster affecting communities in America," says David Miller, associate administrator for FIMA. "Through the National Flood Insurance Program, FEMA is working hard to ensure that families are able to protect themselves from flood damage and accelerate efforts to recover should something happen. As someone who has worked tirelessly on behalf of policyholders for many years, I know Mr. Stearrett will fight each day to ensure that policyholders have the information they need to navigate the flood insurance process and ensure any concerns are addressed."
FEMA has designated an Acting Flood Insurance Advocate and an interim Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate as part of its commitment to provide assistance to homeowners and policyholders. At launch, the acting Advocate and staff will focus on assisting the public as they navigate through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) processes by leveraging FEMA resources to address specific public inquiries or concerns.
The acting advocate also will develop a long-term regional mapping outreach and education strategy in an effort to maximize public support. The Interim Flood Insurance Advocate office will operate with existing resources and further expansion is subject to future funding, considering FEMA operates under a Continuing Resolution.
The Flood Insurance Advocate is an independent office within FEMA, and as such, will have direct access on an advisory basis to the FEMA Administrator. Currently, the public can contact the Acting Flood Insurance Advocate by email at insurance-advocate@fema.dhs.gov, and in the next month, the Flood Insurance Advocate plans to establish a phone number to receive public inquiries.
FEMA recommends that policyholders continue to work with their current agent to resolve questions or concerns related to their flood insurance coverage, or contact Floodsmart at 1-888-379-9531.
The NFIP is a federal program established by Congress to mitigate future flood losses nationwide through sound, community-enforced building and zoning ordinances, as well as provide access to affordable, federally backed flood insurance protection for property owners. The program is designed specifically to provide a way for Americans to address the escalating costs of repairing their homes, businesses, other buildings and their contents from damages caused by floods.
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