The 2024 Hurricane Season Campaign began for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) this week, and this year, the agency’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) intends to expand its community outreach by communicating risks through six languages.
Targeting those in the most vulnerable locations, the effort will incorporate English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Haitian and Vietnamese languages for all messaging going forward. Over six months, this messaging will encourage residents in hurricane-prone states to study the risks of flooding and obtain quotes for flood insurance policies to protect themselves across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
“Given that hurricanes are intensifying and becoming more frequent, one of the most important steps homeowners and renters can take to prepare is to purchase flood insurance,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said. “Along with financial protection, flood insurance also brings peace of mind and we want multiple communities in hurricane-prone states along the coast to take advantage of these benefits. This is why we’re working to take cultural differences into consideration and add additional languages to our marketing for this important program. Our hope is to make flood insurance more accessible and common in households across America—especially in communities susceptible to flooding.”
According to FEMA, the National Flood Insurance Program offers about $1.2 trillion in coverage for approximately 4.7 million policyholders throughout the U.S. Most homeowners’ and renters’ insurance don’t cover damage linked to flooding, given the risks – 99 percent of U.S. counties have experienced flooding in the past 20 years.
“Flood insurance can be the difference between recovery and financial devastation,” David Maurstad, senior executive of NFIP, said. “No one can control when flooding happens, but we can take control of how to protect our homes, possessions and businesses. With the climate landscape we now face, don’t delay another day, call an insurance agent and get the coverage you need ahead of this hurricane season.”
With a campaign theme of “Your Winning Choice,” messaging from FEMA will launch with radio, web and digital advertisements, interviews with local radio and television outlets, emails to insurance agents, social media content, graphics and other materials targeting 48 million residents in more than 195 counties.
In its research ahead of the campaign, FEMA concluded that Vietnamese consistently tops language needs across nearly all of its target states. Given the scope of that need, the agency will also launch a webpage in that language – the first time it’s created a page in any language other than English and Spanish. This will complement a series of news releases.