Loss-Reduction for Lifelines in a Federal Earthquake Insurance Context: Some Preliminary Issues

Through a two-year project, Dames & Moore has examined the topic of building or landuse loss-reduction measures in a federal earthquake insurance or reinsurance program. Loss reduction measures examined covered both landuse and building practices. General Dames & Moore proposals have been modified for inclusions in all legislative packages to be put before Congress in 1991. To date, however, the topic of lifeline system loss reduction in a federal earthquake insurance or reinsurance program has not been examined. Issues to be considered cover (a) the relevance of lifeline serviceability criteria among governmental insurance program considerations (b) financial incentives for mitigation and (c) coordination of the more complex federal regulatory framework. This paper elaborates these issues.