NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM (NFIP)

  A federal program enabling property owners in participating communities to purchase insurance protection against losses from flooding. This insurance is designed to provide an alternative to disaster assistance to meet the escalating costs of repairing damage to buildings and their contents caused by floods. Participation in the NFIP is based on an agreement between local communities and the federal government that if a community will implement and enforce measures to reduce future flood risks to new construction in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA), then the federal government will make flood insurance available to protect against flood losses that do occur. The NFIP was established by Congress through the passage of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. Features of the program were modified and extended with the 1973 passage of the Flood Disaster Protection Act, and other legislative measures. The NFIP is administered by the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA), which is a component part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).