Triple-I Panelists to Focus Oct. 18 on Building Resilience to Floods

For immediate release
New York Press Office: Michael Barry, 917-923-8245, michaelb@iii.org

NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2023—The two Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) contributors to Resilience Incentivization Roadmap 2.0, a new National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) study, will participate in the NIBS webinar on it on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at noon, EDT.

Sean Kevelighan, CEO, Triple-I, led the development of the study’s insurance chapter (Chapter 5: Role of Insurers), which was written by Jeff Dunsavage, senior research analyst, Triple-I, who also served as the technical editor of the NIBS study. It offers recommendations on how residential buildings can be made more resilient to flood risks, which are primarily covered today under FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies even as the U.S. private flood insurance market expands.

“With a 300-year history in risk management, the insurance industry is well-positioned to drive education and investment in resilience,” Kevelighan stated. “Taking action toward predicting and preventing catastrophic loss like flooding creates a win-win for consumers and insurers alike.”

Conducted with the support of Fannie Mae, the NIBS study highlights the threat to property posed by pluvial urban flooding. The term refers to rainwater which backs up into buildings because the water is unable to flow downhill fast enough to reach either stormwater systems or nearby bodies of water, such as rivers or streams. New York City faced this scenario last month as did inland communities which received significant rainfall in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian (2022) and Hurricane Ida (2021).

Kevelighan and Dunsavage will be joined on the panel on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at noon, EDT, by three other authors of the Resilience Incentivization Roadmap 2.0 study:

• Dr. Sean Becketti, principal, Elliott Bay Analytics
• Dr. Keith Porter, chief engineer, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction
• Dr. Jiqiu (JQ) Yuan, vice president, Engineering, NIBS

Mira Papinova, project manager, NIBS, will serve as the virtual webinar’s moderator. The one-hour session is sponsored by NIBS’s Multi-Hazard Mitigation Council and is open to the public at no charge. Pre-registration is required.

RELATED LINKS:

Article:                       In Case of a Flood

Facts and Statistics:   Flood Insurance

Triple-I Blog:              Attacking the Risk Crisis: Roadmap to Investment in Flood Resilience

Triple-I Issues Brief:    Flood: State of the Risk