Bonus B – Managing Risk
C-38
tial $235 billion rebuilding price tag looms overhead, the fiscal future of Japan is worth examining at least
to find out if this disaster could push Japan into a debt crisis.
First of all, Japan has the consolation of its wealth. Traditionally, the richer the country, the less
one event can significantly affect its GDP. Although the quake likely destroyed many businesses and in-
frastructure, Japan has ample resources to draw upon for rebuilding. But Japan’s robust GDP doesn’t tell
the whole story. For all intents and purposes, Japan is already mired in a credit crisis. Public debt ac-
counts for an astronomical 228% of GDP, compared to 144% for Greece and 77% for the United States.
Government officials rarely mention the problem publicly, and the low interest rates that keep businesses
borrowing only make the problem worse.
Given these circumstances, any fiscal hit taken from the earthquake would be just another drop in
a very deep bucket. So far the government allotted $12 billion for recovery in the 2011 budget and will
likely increase that amount over the coming years. And unlike the debt crisis, business leaders are at least
addressing the aftermath of the earthquake head on. A Japanese business lobby recently gave the govern-
ment its blessing to scrap plans for a corporate tax cut to ensure that recovery efforts have as much fund-
ing as possible.iii
lecture enhancer C-4
RECONSIDERING FLOOD INSURANCE
After Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, shocked residents and businesspeople
called their insurance companies. Many found out—too late to do anything about it—that their losses
weren’t covered by insurance.
Nature can be cruel, and disasters occur with alarming frequency. Floods are more confined and
predictable than other disasters, but their scale is sometimes so huge that private insurers have been
scared away. That’s why Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) four decades
ago.
Since then, the federal government has made flood insurance available to property owners, filling
a gap left by private carriers, which generally decline to write the coverage. The program has grown con-
troversial over the years. Critics have argued that it encourages Americans to build on beaches, flood
plains, and other sites that shouldn’t be built on—and wouldn’t be if the government wasn’t willing to
compensate owners when such homes and vacation spots are washed away.
The insurance can be immensely valuable. Policies under the NFIP will pay up to $250,000 for
residential buildings, plus another $100,000 for contents that are lost. It will also pay up to $500,000 for
nonresidential buildings and $500,000 for their contents.
The premiums average around $400 a year for $100,000 of coverage—higher in very flood-prone
areas. That’s very reasonable, considering the risks. Many mortgage lenders require it, at least for proper-
ty located within a flood-prone area. Fannie Mae, for example, requires coverage of 80% of the replace-
ment cost of the home, or the program limit of $250,000, whichever is less.
The federal flood insurance program has about 4.6 million policies in place, covering more than
$743 billion in assets. Annual premium collections run about $2 billion. Still, the program is not as popu-
lar as you might expect. On the Mississippi Gulf Coast devastated by Katrina, just one in four homes
were covered. The national average is 10 to 20%. It is much higher in New Orleans, where it covers about
half the homes.