US insurers set for fallout in wake of hurricane Irene

Budget constraints will hit Fema and NFIP liabilities after storm, Peter Birks writes

WHEN wide-diameter storms strike the US, the normal analyst response is the higher relative level of flood damage – and the lower relative level of wind damage makes the event less of a problem, because more of the losses fall on the government-run National Flood Insurance Programme (NFIP), which is handled by the Federal Emergency Management Authority (Fema).