FEMA Announces Launch
of the Interim Office of
the Flood Insurance Advocate
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
500 C St. SW
Washington, D.C. 20472
FEMA
W-14062
December 18, 2014
MEMO FOR: Write Your Own (WYO) Principal Coordinators and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Servicing Agent
FROM: Dennis Kuhns, Division Director, Risk Insurance Division
SUBJECT: FEMA Announces Launch of the Interim Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate today announced the launch of the Interim
Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate, led by the Acting Flood Insurance
Advocate, David Stearrett. The Interim Flood Insurance Advocate office will
stand up effective December 22, 2014.
The Interim Office will begin work on specialized assistance to
citizens and policyholders on National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) issues as
well as regional mapping outreach and education support. The Interim Office will
operate until a permanent Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate is established
pursuant to Section 24 of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014
(subject to budget resources). To best carry out its mission, duties, and responsibilities,
the Interim Office will be an independent office within FEMA with direct alignment
to the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA) Associate
Administrator and the FEMA Administrator.
Until funding is available to establish the permanent office, a
number of FEMA employees will be detailed to the Interim Office. FEMA spent several
months developing options to implement this new provision, and met with a number
of Advocate and Ombudsman offices at other Federal agencies and identified areas
of greatest policyholder- and property owner needs. These findings were leveraged
to build the interim office.
FEMA is designating an Acting Flood Insurance Advocate and an interim
Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate as part of its commitment to immediately
begin providing assistance to homeowners and policyholders. At launch, the
Acting Advocate and staff will focus on assisting the public as they navigate through
the NFIP processes by leveraging FEMA resources to address specific public
inquiries or concerns. The Acting Advocate will also develop a long-term regional
mapping outreach and education strategy to maximize support to the public. The Interim
Flood Insurance Advocate office will operate with existing resources, and further
expansion is subject to future funding, as FEMA is operating under a Continuing
Resolution.
The Flood Insurance Advocate will be an independent office
within FEMA and have direct access on an advisory basis to the FEMA Administrator.
As funds become available, FEMA plans to designate a permanent Flood Insurance
Advocate and staff. Initially, the public can reach the Acting Flood Insurance
Advocate by email at insurance advocate@fema.dhs.gov.
In the next month, the Flood Insurance Advocate will establish a phone number
to receive inquiries from the public. As with normal NFIP and FEMA business, FEMA
recommends that policyholders continue to also work with their insurance agents
to resolve any questions or concerns that they have related to flood insurance or
contact FloodSmart at 1-888-379-9531. FEMA recommends that Congressional offices
continue to coordinate inquiries or concerns through the FEMA Office of Congressional
Affairs.
The NFIP is a Federal program created by Congress to mitigate future
flood losses nationwide through sound, community-enforced building and zoning ordinances
and to provide access to affordable, federally backed flood insurance
protection for property owners. The NFIP is designed to provide an insurance
alternative to disaster assistance to meet the escalating costs of repairing damage
to buildings and their contents caused by floods.
Thank you for your support and partnership as we stand up the Interim
Office.
cc: Vendors, IBHS, Government Technical Representative
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