Key Principles emerging from Hurricane Risk Mitigation Leadership Forum, February 2008

Delegates and speakers of the HRMLF concurred that consideration of the following principles was essential for effective hurricane risk management in the future:

The number one focus of public policy should be reducing risk to human life.
Loss mitigation works. The science behind mitigation is clear. Properties built under current codes sustain dramatically less damage than do older buildings in hurricane conditions.
Risk must be reflected appropriately by insurance premiums to communicate transparent signals about potential risks to life, property and environment through market-based prices, and to stimulate investment in cost-effective mitigation techniques
Sufficient capacity exists in the private insurance and capital markets to cover potential risks from natural perils.
New development in high-risk areas, and other conduct that increases risk, should not be subsidized, directly or indirectly.
Construction codes and risk mitigation products have been proven sound and effective. Enforcement of codes and of correct installation directly and significantly impacts loss reduction. Government should play an active role in research, standard-setting and enforcement.
Models give guidelines, not answers or absolute facts, and there is much good faith variance among models. This should be factored into policy-making.
Policymaking needs to factor in the uncertainty within the science of hurricane research and forecasting. Increased investment in hurricane research is essential.
Outreach and educational programs such as My Safe Florida Home, South Carolina Safe Home, FLASH® and IBHS should be supported and encouraged.
Investment in consumer education is needed is to make mitigation as accepted - and ultimately, demanded - by the public as buying a safe car or wearing a seat-belt.
Policymakers should aid needy current residents of hazard-prone areas so that they may invest in the safety of their homes and to purchase adequate insurance coverage at risk-based rates. Any such support should be strictly means tested, should come from general public funding and not from insurance premium subsidies, and should include provisions to help avoid or minimize damage. There is no compelling public policy reason to cross-subsidize the affluent, or to encourage an increase in risk or contingent financial obligations.

Key Principles emerging from Hurricane Science for Safety Leadership Forum, December 2008

To ensure that we memorialize and continue the discussion of ideas from the Forum, the following Calls to Action have been developed:

Fund Scientific Research - We call for increased public and private sector funding for applied research specifically focused on identifying effective methods of improving the resiliency and durability of both existing and new homes and workplaces.
Eliminate Incentives for Bad Behavior - We call upon policymakers to reduce and where possible eliminate incentives that increase risk, especially the risk to human life and safety, and also risks to property and to the environment. Instead the focus should be on efforts promoting personal investments in a family's physical and financial security.
Reevaluate Land Use Planning - We call upon local, state, and national policymakers to make structural/community resiliency in the face of inevitable natural catastrophes a primary factor in land use planning and building code enactment and enforcement.
Prioritize Environmental Restoration - We call upon policymakers to recognize the vital role - and strongly support the preservation and restoration of - natural environmental features (such as floodplains, wetlands, and coastal barriers) that greatly mitigate on-shore built environment/structural damage from hurricanes.
Educate and Motivate Stakeholders - We strongly support education and training programs that effectively motivate individuals and communities to take actions that mitigate losses. Such programs should emphasize the significant life safety, community, financial, and environmental benefits of hardening homes and workplaces against the types of high wind and water forces typical of hurricanes. To achieve this, we call upon the disaster safety movement to communicate its expertise and calls to action through understandable, accessible and empowering means.

Key Principles emerging from Texas Risk Mitigation Leadership Forum, June 2010

As the 240 delegates to the Texas Risk Mitigation Leadership Forum assessed the principles that emerged from their two-day discussion, consensus emerged that much of the discussion largely reinforced the existing principles developed in previous Forums. However, the following new Calls to Action emerged:

Public and private sector coordination must be fully embraced to ensure the best possible outcomes in a disaster.
Post disaster recovery plans must be firmly established before disaster strikes to ensure appropriate response and recovery activities.
As the science and engineering solutions surrounding natural perils becomes more refined, this body of knowledge must inform public policy that seeks to protect people and property.
To help encourage citizens to embrace mitigation to protect themselves, their families and their property, effective communications through story telling will be critical to success.