The NFIP is a federal program created by Congress to mitigate future flood losses nationwide through community-enforced flooding and zoning ordinances and to provide access to affordable, federally backed flood insurance protection for property owners. This booklet answers many of the questions about the program, what it covers, and how it works.

"Created by the Congress in 1968, the National Flood Insurance Program aims to reduce future damage to new and substantially improved construction through prudent floodplain development and to transfer the risk of that development from the taxpayer to the property owner through an insurance mechanism that protects the financial interest of the property owner while requiring a premium to be paid for that protection. The Federal Emergency Management Agency identifies and maps flood hazards nationwide. Flood Insurance Rate Maps distinguish several flood hazard zones, including the 100-year floodplain, which is defined as an area inundated by a flood that has a one-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any year (i.e., the 100-year flood, also called the Base Flood Elevation)" -- Page 2 of cover.