We can almost forget everything we thought we knew about floods and insurance. Long considered to be an uninsurable exposure, the flood peril is now being addressed with new forms of risk assessment, loss control, and policy forms that create the prospect of a self-sustaining private market for flood coverage.
Yet the core flood problem remains as it has been for decades. While virtually no property has zero exposure to flood loss, the vast majority of properties in the U.S. pay zero premium toward flood insurance, leaving the public sector on the hook to aid flood victims.