FLOOD09407

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Sharing the Challenge: Floodplain Management into the 21st Century
• Date: 6/1/1994
• Prepared For: Administration Floodplain Management Task Force
• Prepared By: Interagency Floodplain Mmanagement Review Committee
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Community File

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THE FLOOD OF 1993

Table 1.6
Dollars.

Summary of Federal Insurance Claims Payments by State for the 1993 Midwest Floods in Millions of

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Program Total IL IA KS MN MO NE ND SD WI
Federal Crop Insurance Program
Claims Payments 1,017,0 25,4 281.2 40.4 353,9 27,7 49.0 139,3 54.1 46,0
National Flood Insurance Program
Claims Payments 291,3 61.4 21,4 10.7 1.7 192,3 U 0,3 0,8 2,0
Total Claims Payments 1,314,3 86,8 30H 51.1 355,6 220,0 53,8 139,6 54,9 48,0

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Sources: u.s. Department of Agriculture, Flood lnfonnation Center, "USDA Emergency Assistance Paid lo Flood States," April 4, 1994; Federal
Emergency Management Agency, Federal Insurance AdminisLcalion, computer print-out, March 16, 1994.

the NFIP insurance premiums for buildings that pre-
date the identification of the flood hazard in a panicular
community are subsidized, but for buildings built after
that date, premiums are based on full actuarial rates,
All costs of administering the program, including the
costs of floodplain mapping and salaries of federal
employees are charged to policyholders. The Midwest
flood was the third most costly in terms of NFIP
payments, exceeded only by Hurricane Hugo and the
December 1992 coastal storm that struck New York,
New Jersey, Massachusetts, Delaware, and
Connecticut. In 1993, over half of the losses and two
thirds of the payments were in Missouri. States in the
upper basin had lower average payments since buildings
were generally subject to shallow flooding along
tributaries which flooded basements and some first
floors. States in the lower basin had much higher
average losses reflecting the deep flooding in the
bottoms along the main stems of the Mississippi and
Missouri rivers (Table 1.7 and Figure 1. 9), High
average paymlonts in Missouri also reflect large
payments to small businesses and other non-residential
buildings, particularly in Chesterfield and elsewhere in
St. Louis County. Even in the counties with disaster
status, in excess of 80.000 insured properties did not
sustain flood losses. Some of these were behind levees
that did not overtop or fail, but most were on tributaries
that did not flood or where flooding was of less than
100- year frequency,

Federal Crop Insurance Program. Farmers can
protect themselves from actual crop losses or prevented
planting caused by uncontrollable natural events through
purchase of crop insurance from the FCIC. This
government corporation within the USDA provides
coverage for 51 crops in the event of loss from
drought, excess soil moisture, flood, frost, hail, wind,
insects, and other natural perils. Historically drought
has been the major cause of crop loss (55 percent)
while floods represent on! y two percent of claims.
Excess soil moisture, however, represents 16 percent of
losses.

Fanners must purchase the insurance early in the d-op
year. For example, a policy to cover a com crop
planted in 1994 in the Midwest would have to be
purchased by April IS. Farmers can choose the level
of insurance coverage that they wish to purchase, but
they are not able to insure their crop for the full value.
Maximum coverage is 75 percent of expected crop
yield." To encourage participation, the federal
government subsidizes crop inSurance premiums up to
30 percent and pays administrative, actuarial,
underwriting. and selling expenses.

Table 1.8 shows the participation rate for crop
insurance purchases in the 9-state area for 1993 as well
as the indemnities paid to policyholders, Participation
is lowest in the com/soybean region and highest where

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