What is the “Write Your Own” (WYO) Program?

In 1981, a strong effort was begun by the Federal Insurance Administration to re-involve the private-sector insurance companies in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Representatives of major insurance companies and insurance trade associations met with FEMA officials to determine the best way to achieve this re-involvement, and the company representatives outlined conditions under which the voluntary sector would become involved in the Write Your Own program. FEMA obtained the necessary clearances from other federal agencies to meet these conditions.

The goals of the WYO program are to increase the NFIP policy base and the geographic distributions of the policies, improve service to the NFIP policyholders through infusion of insurance industry knowledge and provide the insurance industry with direct operating experience with flood insurance.