Asset valuation · RegistryOne record for insurers, FEMA and funding formulas

Smart Asset Registry

Most public entities keep three versions of the same building: one in GIS, one in the insurance schedule and one in the capital plan, each with a different name, value and address. A Smart Asset Registry replaces them with one engineering-grade, insurance-linked record per facility, so the numbers agree before a disaster and every claim, estimate and grant after it starts from the same facts.

For your insurerA statement of values that matches replacement cost, so you avoid coinsurance penalties and disputed claims.

For FEMAProof of pre-disaster condition, location and insurance, the facts that decide eligibility and the 50 percent test.

For any funding formulaExposure data that shows your share of a block grant or RAPID allocation is fair.

1The data dictionary

Minimum fields per facility

Six groups of fields cover what insurers, FEMA reviewers and formula-based programs ask for. Tags show who relies on each field: InsuranceFEMA PAPDA / damage inventoryFormula funding.

Field	What to record	Used by
1. Identity
Asset ID	One permanent ID shared by GIS, finance, insurance and Grants Portal	InsuranceFEMA PAPDAFormula
Name, owner, department	Legal owner and the department responsible for maintenance	FEMA PAInsurance
Location	Street address and latitude/longitude of the facility (not the parcel centroid)	Damage inventoryFormulaFEMA PA
Facility type and use	Building, road, bridge, water, power, park; current function and occupancy	FEMA PAInsurance
2. Engineering
Construction	Construction class, year built, major renovations, number of stories, gross square feet	InsuranceFEMA PA
Code era	Building code in effect at construction and at last major renovation	FEMA PA (code upgrades)
Elevations	First-floor elevation and the elevation of critical equipment (switchgear, generators, pumps)	FormulaFEMA PA
3. Condition
Pre-disaster condition	Dated photos, inspection reports and a condition rating	FEMA PAInsurance
Maintenance history	Work orders and repairs, showing the facility was maintained	FEMA PA
4. Valuation
Replacement cost value	RCV with its cost source, date and location factor; by building system where possible	InsuranceFEMA PA (50% test)Formula
Depreciation and ACV	Effective age, useful life and actual cash value	Insurance
Contents and equipment	Value of contents and major fixed equipment	InsuranceFEMA PA
5. Hazard
Flood	FEMA flood zone, base flood elevation and depth relative to the first floor	FEMA PA (flood reductions)Formula
Wind, seismic, wildfire	Design wind speed, seismic category and wildfire exposure	FormulaInsurance
6. Insurance and grants
Policy link	Policy number, schedule line, limits, sublimits, deductibles, coinsurance	InsuranceFEMA PA
Obtain-and-maintain	Insurance required by any earlier FEMA grant: disaster, project, hazard and amount	FEMA PA
Federal funding history	Earlier FEMA projects on the facility and their closeout status	FEMA PAFormula

2Where the registry is used

The damage-to-dollars chain

Insurance renewalFeeds the statement of values; flags facilities insured below replacement cost.

Before hazard seasonA frozen baseline proves pre-disaster condition and value.

Preliminary damage assessmentQuick, credible damage estimates for the declaration request.

Damage inventoryEvery damaged site listed with ID and coordinates within days.

Project formulationPre-disaster condition, code era and RCV for each project.

Closeout and auditA record that ties value, damage, insurance and cost together.

Under today’s rules

What it protects

Eligibility: pre-disaster photos and maintenance records answer the most common FEMA challenge, that damage was pre-existing or deferred maintenance.
Insurance: obtain-and-maintain tracking keeps facilities eligible; FEMA deducts actual and anticipated insurance (44 CFR 206.250).
Insurance after recovery: property improved with federal funds must be insured like your other property (2 CFR 200.310).
Records: grant records must generally be kept three years after the final expenditure report (2 CFR 200.334).

Under proposed reforms

What it would decide

RAPID: the Review Council’s report would have states keep a public registry of facilities receiving permanent repair funding, with insurance details. See RAPID Explained.
Higher federal share: proving insurance on past projects and reporting damage data within 30 days are among the Council’s required criteria.
Allocation: under any lump-sum model, registry values are the evidence for a fair local share. See Section 428 model.

3Registry record builder

Interactive tool

Build one facility record and see how complete it is

Fill in what you know for one facility. The builder scores each field group and lists what to collect next. Download a CSV with these columns to start your registry in any spreadsheet or GIS. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

1. Identity

Asset ID

Facility name

Latitude

Longitude

Facility type

2. Engineering

Year built

Gross square feet

Code at construction

First-floor elevation (ft)

Critical equipment elevation (ft)

3. Condition

Condition rating

Date of latest dated photos

Date of latest inspection

4. Valuation

Replacement cost value ($)

Cost source and date

Contents and equipment ($)

5. Hazard

Flood zone

Base flood elevation (ft)

Design wind speed (mph)

6. Insurance and grants

Policy and schedule line

Insured limit ($)

Obtain-and-maintain requirement?

4From registry to rapid estimate

The first 72 hours

A registry proves its value in the first days after an event. Under today’s Public Assistance process it speeds the preliminary damage assessment, the damage inventory and project formulation. Under the upfront-funding models in the reform proposals, it is what turns a hazard reading into a facility-level dollar figure that holds up in review.

Five questions the registry should answer within 72 hours

1What was exposed?Asset IDs, footprints and criticality show which facilities sat inside the hazard area.

2How hard was it hit?Wind fields, flood depths and shaking maps read against each footprint and elevation.

3Which parts are vulnerable?Roof age, construction, equipment elevations and anchorage point to the components most likely damaged.

4What will it probably cost?Quantities, damage ratios and dated unit costs give a cost range for each facility.

5What is insured or eligible?Policy limits, deductibles and obtain-and-maintain status split the range into insured, eligible and local shares.

The damage-to-cost engine

Every term in a rapid estimate should trace to a registry field or a named source. The structure is simple enough to audit:

Σ ( component quantity × damage ratio × unit replacement cost × local cost index )
+ emergency work + debris + soft costs + code allowances + contingency + escalation
− insurance recoverable = Initial facility cost estimate (a range, not a final number)

Term	Where it comes from	Registry field that feeds it
Component quantity	GIS geometry and the facility’s component inventory	Gross square feet, building systems
Damage ratio	Hazard intensity at the site read against a vulnerability curve for that construction	Construction class, code era, first-floor and equipment elevations
Unit cost and local index	A named, dated cost source such as RSMeans, adjusted for location	Replacement cost value, cost source and date
Code allowances	Difference between the code at construction and the codes and standards that apply to the repair	Code era
Insurance recoverable	Policy schedule, limits, sublimits and deductibles	Policy link, insured limit

An engine estimate is a starting range for triage and cash-flow planning. Under today’s rules FEMA still validates eligible scope and cost, and actual and anticipated insurance is deducted from the eligible amount (44 CFR 206.250).

Why a trigger needs the registry

A parametric trigger measures how hard the wind blew or how deep the water rose. It cannot see how old a roof is or whether the switchgear is in the basement. The gap between what a trigger pays and what repair actually costs is basis risk, and engineering fields in the registry are what narrow it.

Hazard	What a trigger measures	What the trigger cannot see	Registry fields that close the gap
Hurricane wind and surge	Wind speed, surge height	Roof age and uplift rating, envelope condition, contents location, salt-water exposure	Roof type and year, design wind speed, first-floor and equipment elevations
Riverine and coastal flood	Flood depth	First-floor elevation, below-grade utilities, flood duration, contamination	Flood zone, base flood elevation, first-floor and equipment elevations
Cloudburst (rainfall)	Rainfall intensity	Sewer surcharge, blocked inlets, overland flow, local topography	Sewershed, below-grade spaces, equipment elevations
Earthquake	Ground shaking	Retrofit status, soil amplification, lateral system, equipment anchorage	Construction class, code era, retrofit year, anchorage
Wildfire	Fire perimeter and intensity	Defensible space, roof and siding class, smoke-sensitive HVAC	Wildfire exposure, material class, HVAC filtration

Example: a regional flood trigger may confirm water reached +15 feet at a wastewater pump station. Only the registry shows whether the control panels and switchgear sit above or below that line, and that one fact can decide most of the loss.

Estimate classes: know what each number can be used for

Early numbers get treated as final numbers unless everyone agrees on what each estimate is for. GovStar uses five classes, from the first parametric figure to the reconciled closeout cost.

Class	Use it for	Do not use it for
R-1 Parametric advance	Immediate liquidity and state cash-flow planning	A final fixed-cost grant
R-2 Registry-based initial	Allocation and inspection triage	Project closeout
R-3 Engineer-validated	Project valuation for simpler facilities	Final valuation of complex lifeline facilities
R-4 Contract award	Truing up obligations to the bid market	Avoiding procurement review
R-5 Final reconciled	Audit, closeout and the final duplication-of-benefits check	Reopening the file without fraud or material error

Code era matters at every class. It decides whether a repair restores the facility to its original standard or must meet the codes and standards that apply now, which is often the largest single driver of project cost.

5Building it

Start small, then deepen

Level 1 · Months 0–6

One list everyone shares

Assign permanent asset IDs and coordinates.
Match every facility to its insurance schedule line.
Record obtain-and-maintain requirements from past disasters.

Level 2 · Months 6–18

Values you can defend

Set RCV with a named, dated cost source and square-foot modifiers.
Value critical facilities by building system.
Record elevations and code era for exposed facilities.

Level 3 · Ongoing

A living record

Freeze a dated baseline before each hazard season.
Add photos and inspections on a schedule.
Reconcile to the insurance renewal every year.

Start with the facilities that carry the most value and exposure: treatment plants, pump stations, emergency operations centers, fire stations and schools. A complete record for 20 percent of your facilities usually covers most of the value at risk.

6Governance

Keeping it trustworthy

Ownership

Named owners

Each department owns its facilities’ records and signs off annually.
One registry steward manages IDs, standards and the frozen baselines.

Quality

Show the confidence

Mark each value as field-verified, engineer-reviewed or modeled.
Have a professional engineer review lifeline facilities.

Security

Protect sensitive data

Critical infrastructure details may be sensitive; publish only what is required and restrict the rest.
Keep version history so you can show what you knew before the disaster.

Deeper reading

The Tri-Ledger ArchitectureHow the trigger, the registry and the audit ledger work together under upfront funding. Overhaul of the Federal Emergency Management SystemThe Review Council’s proposals, including the centralized registry.

A planning framework, not a FEMA requirement or form. Not engineering, insurance or legal advice and not FEMA guidance. GovStar is independent and not affiliated with FEMA. Related: Replacement Cost, Depreciation and Insurance · FEMA PA Policy on Insurance · Funding & Valuation Center.