GOHSEP Elected_Officials_Manual_2015

GOHSEP
Louisiana Elected Officials
Emergency Management Manual
Prepare + Prevent + Respond + Recover + mitigate
5.4 FEMA PA Insurance Requirement:
Obtain + Maintain (O & M)
As a condition of receiving FEMA Public Assistance (PA) funding, Applicants must obtain and
maintain insurance coverage at least equal to the amount of the eligible damage to the facility
receiving Federal assistance. This is often called the obtain and maintain (O & M) requirement. The
purpose of the O & M requirement is to protect against future loss from the same type of peril.
Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations (44 CFR) 206.253 (f) indicates that if the requirement
to purchase (obtain) insurance is not met, FEMA may de-obligate funds provided for damage
sustained in the current disaster. If an Applicant does not maintain insurance, FEMA will not
provide assistance for that facility in future disasters.
Applicants are exempt from this requirement:
• Where eligible damage is less than $5,000.
OR
• The facility is a temporary facility.
For facilities where, in the determination of the State Commissioner of Insurance, insurance is
not reasonably available, Applicants may be exempted from certain insurance requirements.
(See next section on the Insurance Commissioner’s Certification [ICC].) These exemptions
do not apply to facilities insurable under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), where
insurance is considered to be available and reasonable.
Responsibilities
Applicants are responsible for risk management. It is important to know that private insurance
is the first source of help after a disaster. FEMA PA and other Federal support are supplemental,
available when communities are overwhelmed from disaster and after insurance benefits and
other local or State resources have been exhausted.
5.4 O & M Page 1 of 2