We don't just talk about flood insurance. We BUY flood insurance. H2O's team members are also community members in the very places most affected by flooding and storms. We don't just talk about flood insurance — we understand the real value in our own lives and in our communities. We're believers. >> HOW CAN WE HELP?
Our team has decades of insurance, government, and programmatic experience.
Training for NFIP Stakeholders
H2O has served as the NFIP Stakeholder Training and Delivery Contractor for FEMA since 2008 and has trained more than a quarter million agents, adjusters, and other stakeholders on the programmatic requirements of the NFIP. Our team provides high-quality instructional design and expert delivery to help agents and claims adjusters stay up to date on regulations and requirements.
Continuing Education in All 50 States
H2O offers Continuing Education credit to agents and claims adjusters on behalf of the NFIP to help them fulfill their training and licensing requirements. We comply with all of the complex and varying regulation in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and our instructors, content, and delivery methods are all DOI approved. We pride ourselves on responsive, expert end user care as part of this service for all of our attendees.
Industry Thought Leadership
H2O is passionate about insurance and eager to help the flood industry change and grow. Our team has worked to advance the industry in a number of ways, including serving on the Association of State Floodplain Managers board, speaking at industry events, and serving on review panels for national and regional conferences and the Certified Floodplain Manager exam. H2O also has staff embedded with the Risk Rating & Product Redesign Team at FEMA Headquarters.
For Private Insurance Agencies
H2O offers training and other support services including the development of technology-based solutions to private insurance agencies acting as Write Your Own companies to the NFIP. Our underwriting and adjusting experts stay up to date on all program changes and are supported by a team of experts sensitive to adult-learning and training needs.
H2O’s founder, Jo Ann Howard, was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as the Federal Insurance Administrator from 1998–2001.
In this role, she managed more than $500 billion in flood insurance for the NFIP in thousands of communities across America. Jo Ann also served as a gubernatorial appointee to head the Texas Department of Insurance as chief insurance regulator, and as a member of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. She has served on several boards and commissions, and has influenced flood policy throughout her career. She was presented with the Goddard-White Award by the Association of State Floodplain Managers in 2019.
The Real Value of Insurance
At H2O, we know the impact that insurance can have on real people, and we’ve had many team members affected by hurricanes and flooding events. Here’s just one of our stories — from H2O’s NFIP Stakeholder Training Contract Manager, Dorothy Martínez:
"When I bought my home in 1997, the first thing I did was check my flood zone. Even though my builder said that I wasn't in one, I found that I was in a shaded Zone X. I had a moderate chance of flooding, so I bought my flood policy thinking I would never need it.
Boy, was I wrong! It took nearly 20 years to find out the value of this low-cost policy. In August 2017, while I was away on business, Houston was hit with Hurricane Harvey. I will never forget the photo I received showing the water seeping into our home. I felt helpless in my dry, safe hotel room as my husband moved himself and our dogs to safety.
Insurance gave me peace of mind through the chaos. The water did not recede in my neighborhood for almost a week and the water was almost two feet high in our home. The first time I stepped into the home, it was devastating; my haven was smelly, wet, and muddy. But I kept telling myself, we will be okay… We have a National Flood Insurance Program flood policy. After the removal of all the damaged items, it was a shell of a house, but I could envision that it would become our home again.
Our insurance checks allowed us to pay contractors to replace floors, drywall, windows, the fireplace, doors, cabinets and electrical. We were back in our home in four short months. It was stressful and there were difficult times dealing with the reconstruction, but I just can’t imagine what our neighbors were going through. I suspected that they were dipping into their savings, college funds, and retirement accounts.
Flood insurance was the best investment… ever! I will never let my flood insurance policy lapse. Over 20 years, I paid about $9,000 in flood insurance premiums but what I got back was 22-fold. Buying and maintaining my flood insurance policy was the best investment of my life."
H2O has been the NFIP Stakeholder Training Contractor since 2008. Here's what just some of the agents and adjusters we've trained have said about our work:
H2O @ Work: NFIP Stakeholder Training Contractor
H2O’s depth of flood insurance knowledge is best demonstrated by our work as FEMA’s NFIP Stakeholder Training Contractor – a position we have held for over a decade. More than 272,000 attendees across 10 FEMA Regions have been trained by H2O.
In this role, H2O works closely with FEMA SMEs to design and develop training materials for more than 20 courses in multiple formats, including in-classroom training, webinars, and eLearning through the Emergency Management Institute’s Independent Study Program. Through frequent, meaningful interaction with FEMA staff, H2O’s team has gained a detailed understanding of the NFIP and FEMA's priorities – and is even embedded at FEMA Headquarters to develop training for FEMA’s Risk Rating and Product Redesign initiative (Risk Rating 2.0).
H2O staff includes dedicated NFIP professionals (former agents, FEMA reservists, claims adjusters, and NFIP administrator), education professionals, recovery SMEs, FEMA grant specialists, Certified Floodplain Managers, instructional designers and developers, video technicians, technical writers, and graphic artists. H2O’s team has long associations with the NFIP. The team also benefits from working relationships with FEMA Regional staff, the National Emergency Managers Association, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, flood zone determination companies, the Association of State Floodplain Managers, and the Natural Hazard Mitigation Association. >> LEARN MORE ABOUT H2O'S NFIP EXPERTISE
“I loved the tag team approach with Melanie Graham and Rick Waalkes. I would love to have them train on other topics in the future. Both engaging and you could tell they were 'smiling through the phone'. A+++”