Standard residential and commercial property policies normally exclude flood losses, due to their catastrophic nature. In response to an overall need for flood insurance, Congress passed the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. This Act established the operation of a national program for providing this much-needed coverage. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is managed by the Mitigation Division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Homeowners, commercial property owners, and residential and commercial renters desiring flood insurance must procure this coverage in addition to a homeowners / renters / dwelling policy.