The following excerpt from the document contains multiple concealed hyperlinks embedded in the original text: "The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is the primary source of flood insurance coverage for residential properties in the United States. The NFIP has two main policy goals: (1) to provide access to primary flood insurance, thereby allowing for the transfer of some of the financial risk of property owners to the federal government; and (2) to mitigate and reduce the nation's comprehensive flood risk through the development and implementation of floodplain management standards. A longer-term objective of the NFIP is to reduce federal expenditure on disaster assistance after floods. As a public insurance program, the goals of the NFIP are different from the goals of private-sector insurance companies. It encompasses social goals to provide flood insurance in flood-prone areas to property owners who otherwise would not be able to obtain it and to reduce the government's cost after floods. The NFIP also engages in many 'noninsurance' activities in the public interest[.] [...] Over 22,000 communities in 56 states and jurisdictions participate in the NFIP, with over 4.7 million policies providing over $1.3 trillion in coverage. The program collects $4.3 billion in annual premium revenue. Floods are the most common and costly natural disaster in the U.S."