New Flood Insurance Literacy Program Helps Communities Prepare Before Disaster Strikes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Extension Disaster Education Network and the LSU AgCenter LaHouse Research and Education Center have released Improving Flood Insurance Literacy to Support Resilient Communities, a nationally applicable training program designed to make complex flood insurance information easier to understand, use, and share.
Developed with support from the EDEN Development Grant Program, the resource helps homeowners, renters, Extension professionals, community officials, real estate agents, builders and insurance professionals better understand flood risk, coverage, documentation, mitigation and financial preparedness. Its modular format allows educators and other professionals to adapt the materials for different audiences and learning environments.
Flood risk is often difficult to recognize, and Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Insurance Rate Maps should not be the only information used to decide whether a household needs flood insurance. The program helps participants consider their actual risk, understand what policies cover and exclude, and identify steps that may reduce risk and insurance costs.
“Resilience starts with informed decisions,” said Carol Friedland, professor of biological and agricultural engineering and director of LaHouse. “You can’t make a good call about flood insurance if you don’t understand your actual risk, what your policy covers and what it leaves out, or that there are concrete steps you can take to lower your costs. This program puts that information in plain language so the people working with communities can actually use it.”
The curriculum was piloted in four sessions. One in-person session focused on modules for homeowners, while three online sessions reviewed the full curriculum with modules grouped for different audiences. Participants provided positive feedback, demonstrated increased understanding of flood insurance concepts, and expressed interest in sharing what they learned with others.
That potential for continued sharing is central to the program’s design. The materials can support community education, client conversations, professional development and disaster preparedness programming in a variety of settings.
“This program gives educators practical, adaptable tools to help people understand their flood risk, ask better questions about coverage and make informed financial decisions before a flood occurs,” said Meggan Franks, assistant professor of Extension. “Our hope is that it makes complex information easier to understand, use and share within communities.”
Pam Lewandowski, manager of training at LaHouse, led curriculum development, instructional sequencing and alignment of the content for multiple audiences. Franks supported program evaluation and guided improvements based on the pilot sessions. Rubayet Mostafiz, assistant professor of research and LaHouse assistant director of research, provided technical feedback and grant management support. Friedland provided project leadership and oversight to align the program with LaHouse’s mission of supporting resilient, sustainable, and healthy homes and communities.
Extension professionals, educators and community partners are encouraged to explore the Flood Insurance Literacy Program, incorporate the materials into their own programming and share the information with homeowners, clients and community members. The program is available through the EDEN Resource Dashboard. Questions about implementation or content may be directed to the LaHouse Research and Education Center.
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About EDEN
EDEN is a collaborative network of Cooperative Extension educators across the United States and territories who work to improve the delivery of education and information and the availability of resources related to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Historically, this grassroots network has been aligned with the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) and supported by USDA NIFA through the Food and Agricultural Defense Initiative (FADI) grant.
The Extension Foundation, in partnership with the Cooperative Extension System, supports the administration of the FADI-EDEN project. Learn more about EDEN here.
Media Contacts:
Pam Lewandowski, Manager of Training, LSU AgCenter LaHouse Research and Education Center
225-578-4430 | plewandowski@agcenter.lsu.edu
Ruth Inman, Marketing and Communications, Extension Disaster Education Network
405-612-7639 | ruthinman@extension.org
