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53 natural disaster/climate change response that you think should be on the industry's radar right now? It's critical to understand that PDMDA tracking is a daily process that remains active throughout the year. Don't wait for a PDMDA to occur and expect to react. You need a disciplined process in place with one owner, with rules defined at each entrance, and with established controls to ensure intersecting departments are doing what they should be doing. If you're doing all that, then you will always be ready. LAURA MACINTYRE, President, DIMONT What are the most critical components of how the mortgage industry should prepare to respond to the waves of increasing, and increasingly damaging, natural disasters? One of the most critical components of preparing for the increasing damage related to natural disaster is to ensure that homes are properly insured. We are seeing increasing cases where homes are not insured, underinsured, or have clauses excluding specific damages related to natural disasters. ese situations are leaving the borrowers, mortgage companies, and investors at risk of losing the equity in the property. It is critical to review policy exemptions and certain exclusions to protect against future losses. As the mortgage industry is entering unchartered territory, it will be critical for the mortgage community to be on top of their portfolios in order to preserve and protect against any blight in their communities. What lessons have come out of COVID-19 that can be applied to natural disaster response and assisting impacted homeowners through those challenges? No one could have predicted COVID-19. However, as we are rounding the corner and nearing the end of COVID-19, we have learned that people are resilient, and they have found ways to be resourceful. e mortgage community responded by being flexible with borrowers when experiencing damage or loss to their home and the communities partnered with local and federal agencies to ensure borrowers were able to get their homes repaired or appropriate measures were taken to ensure borrowers were not displaced. As we dealt with social distancing, vendors had to get creative to ensure properties were being inspected and safety precautions were being adhered to. e use of new technologies, including drone and AI solutions, were quickly implemented, which aided in helping borrowers and the mortgage community stay close to understanding the conditions of properties. What are some ways climate change is impacting the industry and the way it must do business in the decades to come? Climate change is putting more homes at risk of natural disasters, specifically flooding. We are seeing more flood damage in areas that had not previously been designated as flood zones. Since they are not flood zones, flood insurance is not required, and neither the borrower nor the servicer are prepared to handle damage related to rising waters. More education and communication relating to natural disasters needs to be at the forefront of our government so that our communities are prepared for whatever comes their way. How can technology best be leveraged to help predict, address, and solve these problems? Improved topology mapping, forecasting, and AI and drone technologies can be used to improve the predictions of homes that may be impacted by rising water associated with climate change, resulting in better information for our mortgage community to ensure the appropriate insurance has been placed on the home. Are there any other important aspects of natural disaster/climate change response that you think should be on the industry's radar right now? Given where our country is relating to inflation, gas prices, and the crisis impacting our supply chain (specifically materials and lumber), we will see a slowdown in properties being repaired and possibly issues relating to access to supplies which may cause further delays. e mortgage community and our entire industry should recognize that, ultimately, these issues may have an impact on housing prices and housing supply as properties may take longer to repair, which will have an overall impact on our housing market. JERRY MAVELLIA, CEO, Guardian Asset Management What are the most critical components of how the mortgage industry should prepare to respond to the waves of increasing, and increasingly damaging, natural disasters? e frequency and size of recent disasters have been unprecedented and, thus, the proper level of coordination must happen quickly and decisively. Past disaster responses have provided a great learning opportunity to be better prepared for when the next disaster strikes. Preparedness should include efforts to assist both homeowners and servicers. Communication and collaboration between the servicers and investors, visits to the disaster areas, and the suspension of foreclosures will help minimize losses to all involved. is can be critical during recovery efforts, and thus servicers are encouraged to monitor all communications through accurate and timely documentation in their systems. To that end, best practices for servicers must include a disaster response policy and procedures with documentation of all communications with the borrowers to support compliance with fair servicing requirements. JON MAYNELL, JR., President, Advanced Data Corporation What are the most critical components of how the mortgage industry should prepare to respond to the waves of increasing, and increasingly damaging, natural disasters? We need to understand and plan for the short- and long-term consequences to help as many affected homeowners as possible. For example, how will property values change over time in affected areas? We're not just concerned with how this will impact verification and underwriting for mortgages on these properties, but also with how we can best cultivate the most likely migration target areas. What lessons have come out of COVID-19 that can be applied to natural disaster response and assisting impacted homeowners through those challenges?

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