REALITY: Insurers pay the vast majority of homeowners’ catastrophe losses. The bulk of government disaster assistance from FEMA goes to public infrastructure and local governments, not individuals.

• A comparison of FEMA and private market insurance payments for U.S. hurricanes from 1994 through 2006 shows insurers paid out more than $100 billion while FEMA paid a little more than $33.1 billion in relief to public entities and only $16.3 billion to individuals.