Structural_Elevation_Industry_Day_Slides_Final.pdf

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Structural Elevation

Request for Information: 70FA6018I00000006 Industry Day

April 2019

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA) http://www.intranetasi.com/graphicsLibrary/index.cfm?event=graphics.downloadDoc&graphicID=|6B1ACFD8A060BEAC

Slide 2

Guidelines

Our Adobe Connect speakers are turned off and we have made the dial-in “listen only” for all participants

This Request for Information (RFI) 70FA6018I00000006 Industry Day is for the Structural Elevation procurement

Procurement rules (the Federal Acquisition Regulation) apply to all communications

Prospective offerors shall only communicate through the Contracting Officer or Contract Specialist

Please submit all questions and responses in writing to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist

There will be a short Q&A session as part of this VTC

If you or your company representative did not register for today’s Industry Day, please do so by emailing Jose Bumbray and Nicole Smith promptly after this event concludes

Slide 3

Introductions

Structural Elevation Program Office

Andy Neal, Actuarial and Catastrophic Data Modeling Branch Chief

Brian Garalde, Risk Rating Engine Product Owner

Tony Hake, NFIP Insurance Transformation Program Manager

Kimberly Winger, NFIP Insurance Transformation Deputy Program Manager

Structural Elevation Procurement Office

Nicole Smith, Contracting Officer

Jose Bumbray, Contract Specialist

Slide 4

Purpose and Outcomes

Purposes:

Provide an opportunity for insurance industry to learn about FEMA’s Structural Elevation requirement

Provide an opportunity for FEMA to gain industry feedback about the upcoming Structural Elevation procurement

Outcomes:

Align on Risk Rating 2.0 vision, case for change, and timeline

Clarity on required objectives for the Structural Elevation procurement

Slide 5

Agenda

Risk Rating 2.0 background

Structural Elevation background and requirements

Structural Elevation requirements question and answer session

Closing

Slide 6

FEMA is focused on building a culture of preparedness by closing the insurance gap.

We are committed to a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that people value and trust; that is fair, understandable, and less complex to navigate.

*From FEMA 2018-2022 Strategic Plan

FEMA Strategic Goal One

Slide 7

To meet our goal, we are transforming the NFIP's insurance product to:

A significant part of this transformation is Risk Rating 2.0

Help the public understand the value of flood insurance

Better reflect industry best practices

Improve the policyholder experience

NFIP Insurance Transformation Initiative

Slide 8

Risk Rating 2.0 will fundamentally change the way FEMA rates a property’s flood risk and prices insurance.

Risk Rating 2.0 aims to accomplish this by leveraging industry best practices and current technology to deliver rates that:

Are easy to understand

Are transparentBetter reflect a property’s unique flood risk

Risk Rating 2.0

Slide 9

The current rating methodology has not changed since the 1970s and does not reflect advances in technology and our current understanding of flood risk.

Over time this has resulted in the following issues:

Cost disparity; policyholders owning lower-value homes are paying relatively more than policyholders with higher-value homes

Dramatic changes in pricing at the edges of a flood zone

An incomplete picture of flood risk

Current Rating Structure

Slide 10

FEMA believes that more transparent, comprehensive rates will help policyholders understand their risk, their premium, and their coverage options

When communities and policyholders have a better view and understanding of their true flood risk, FEMA believes this will spur growth in insurance policies and further narrow the insurance gap

FEMA will better meet the objectives in Federal law to set premium rates based on accepted actuarial principles by leveraging modern technology and advanced actuarial practices

Risk Rating 2.0 Outcomes

Slide 11

Our industry partners will have the opportunity to train their agents before the official rollout of the rating engine.

April 1, 2020 Rates for all single-family homes will be available to industry partners through the new rating engine

October 1, 2020 Rates for all single-family homes go into effect nationwide

Risk Rating 2.0 Rollout in 2020

Slide 12

Under Risk Rating 2.0, elevation of a building will continue to be an important determinant of risk and will still be a key component of rating.

Current State: First Floor Height (FFH) is taken into account by elevation of lowest floor above or below BFE (base flood elevation). A “lowest floor guide” is published in the Flood Insurance Manual that provides more than two dozen images across various flood zones to help agents and underwriters identify the appropriate lowest floor for rating. The elevation is provided on an Elevation Certificate (EC).

Future State: the Program team is seeking to simplify the FFH variable – defined as the height above ground of the lowest floor where the insured would like to get coverage – in the new rating methodology. In addition, the elevation of the ground is important.

Ground elevation is going to be compared to your flooding source.

Background

Slide 13

Purpose of this acquisition is to allow FEMA to quickly and accurately estimate structural elevation during the time of sale of an insurance policy. However, FEMA may consider utilizing the tool for other uses, such as in support of the Flood Mapping Program or Flood Plain Management.

Purpose

Slide 14

Objective 1: Provide a first-floor height tool

Objective 2: Improve the tool as technology advances

Objective 3: Provide alternative solutions

Objective 4: Provide training and training materials for wide distribution

Requirements

Slide 15

Fully functional and available for use by FEMA staff, NFIP “Write Your Own” (WYO) companies, NFIP Direct, and insurance agents by April 1, 2020;

Provide a given accuracy nationwide within a reasonable margin of error and confidence interval (e.g. accuracy within +/- 1 feet for 90% of the structures with 95% confidence);

Coverage for nearly all structures in the United States, including tribal areas and territories;

Be able to handle many concurrent queries from separate users, up to 50,000 transactions per day during normal operations. The number of transactions will increase significantly before and after a major flooding event, and in the first year of service;

Greater than 99% uptime, with planned downtime scheduled for non-business hours with reasonable notice and explanation to FEMA and FEMA technical contractors;

A response time of six (6) seconds or less;

FEMA will consider different levels of automation of the FFH tool, with an expectation for the tool or API service to be user intuitive; and Provide documentation/certificate of FFH to end user.

Slide 16

Given that technology in this space is innovative and developing, FEMA is considering a requirement to renew the first-floor height estimation every few years. There will be an expectation that as technology and supporting data continues to improve and advance, FEMA will be able to provide policyholders with more accurate information over time.

Objective 2: Improve the tool as technology advances

Slide 17

For structures such as new buildings, remote locations, or structures that are visually limited by vegetation or the built environment, FEMA may require an alternative method for estimating elevation. FEMA is interested in understanding any alternative solutions for those situations that could be provided by the vendor.

Objective 3: Provide alternative solutions

Slide 18

The purpose of this objective is to obtain model documentation, tutorials, and standard train-the-trainer training for FEMA personnel, NFIP “Write Your Own” (WYO), NFIP Direct, and insurance agents to gain proficiency in obtaining first floor height data. The vendor will provide a user guide that details how the tool should be used and provide guidance to the end-user.

In addition, the vendor will provide standard technical and troubleshooting support for assistance required arising from technical difficulty in usability or understanding. The vendor’s delivery method for technical and troubleshooting support is subject to the following constraints:

Where support is done remotely, the vendor will be unable to access any NFIP data.

Where support is completed onsite or remotely with access to data, the vendor is required to be badged (and complete a public trust background investigation).

Objective 4: Provide training & training materials for wide distribution

Slide 19

Ground Rules:

We will now monitor the “chat” function on Adobe Connect and participants will be able to type questions into the chat and the Program Office will orally answer technical questions pertaining to the requirements

The chat will be the only method of asking questions – voice and audio will not be enabled

Questions may not be answered during this time for any reason

If your question is not answered during this time, please resubmit to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist prior to the RFI question due date

Discussion

Slide 20

Objective 2: Improve the tool as technology advances

Objective 3: Provide alternative solutions

Objective 4: Provide training and training materials for wide distribution

Requirements

Slide 21

Upcoming Milestones

Milestone Date (subject to change)

Industry written questions due to Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist

NLT 2:00 p.m. (EST) May 3rd

Government answers posted on www.FBO.gov NLT 5:00 p.m. (EST) May 7th

Industry written responses due to Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist

NLT 2:00 p.m. (EST) May 10th http://www.fbo.gov/

Slide 22

Contracting Officer – Nicole Smith:

Nicole.Smith@fema.dhs.gov

Contract Specialist – Jose Bumbray:

Jose.Bumbray@associates.fema.dhs.gov

Points of contact (POC) mailto:Nicole.Smith@fema.dhs.gov mailto:Renee.Gardner@fema.dhs.gov

Slide 23

Thank you for joining us – we look forward to continuing the conversation with you