2002 Volume 8 Pages 167-172
There are two ways of handling flood risks: risk control, which aims to reduce the frequency of disasters, and risk finance, which aims to economically make up for the losses caused by floods. This study focuses on flood insurance as a means of risk financing. As a first step, literature on flood insurance programs was researched, and Japan’s flood insurance program was compared with those in other countries. Then, feasibility of different programs was evaluated and insurance rates were estimated on the basis of the changing social conditions surrounding flood insurance programs. Finally, an attempt was made at estimating, by using levee failure probabilities, the minimum degree of levee improvement that would make a flood insurance program economically feasible.
