Insurance in the aftermath: A qualitative content analysis examining the emergency management cycle and insurance issues across three U.S. circuit courts

From the 1980s to today, the United States has experienced an increase from an average of 3.3 to 23 billion-dollar disaster events each year. As natural extreme events continue to challenge communities, the intersection of legal liability and insurance issues becomes increasingly important in disaster management. However, applying legal liability and insurance laws during various phases of the emergency management cycle remains ambiguous. This dissertation aims to shed light on the legal and insurance issues that arise at all stages of disaster management and develop policy recommendations that can address identified gaps or inconsistencies in the application of insurance and liability frameworks within emergency management by asking: (1) What legal liability issues have been addressed in court cases related to the emergency management cycle in the 5th, 8th and 10th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals? (2) How have the courts interpreted and applied relevant insurance laws and policies in these cases? By understanding how the court system reviews insurance policies following disasters and identifying significant issues within the law in these areas, regulations can be implemented to address the disparities, allowing greater risk transference or the development of public-private partnerships and risk-sharing programs to close the disaster insurance gap that currently exists in the U.S. To achieve these objectives, a Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) was conducted reviewing 63 cases, which identified 65 codes, organized into 10 distinct categories, and further grouped into three overarching themes: (1) private insurance issues, (2) government-backed insurance issues, and (3) public policy and human factors. Key issues include standardized policy language, accurate and reliable claims processing, and reforming problematic policy sections to reduce litigation. The Federal Tort Claims Act and government immunity raise questions about the need to balance government accountability with the need for emergency managers to have the flexibility to manage disaster events appropriately. Policymakers must address these challenges while ensuring that insurance and emergency management systems work together to provide timely and effective recovery support.