Just 10% on hard-hit Carolina coast have flood insurance
Much flooding was in areas not labeled flood hazard zones.
As Americans in North and South Carolina make it out of the Florence floodwaters, they face another daunting task: figuring out whether they can afford to rebuild.
Few have flood insurance in the areas with the worst destruction. Home insurance does not typically cover flooding, a fact many realize the hard way. People have to purchase a separate flood insurance policy at least a month in advance of a major storm to be eligible for reimbursement.
Only about one in 10 homes has flood insurance in the counties hit by Florence, according to a Washington Post analysis comparing the number of policies in National Flood Insurance Program data with the number of housing units in counties hit by the storm. Milliman, an actuarial firm, found similar results.
In Craven County, North Carolina, which is home to New Bern, a city that has dominated headlines for severe flooding and hundreds of rescues, 9.9 percent have flood insurance. In Wilmington, which is in New Hanover County and has also seen devastating flooding, slightly more — 14.2 percent — have flood insurance, according to The Washington Post analysis. Florence has caused historic flooding around New Bern and Wilmington, two parts of the Southeast coast with some of the lowest take-up rates for flood insurance.
The federal government requires flood insurance in parts of the country that are designated as “special flood hazard areas,” but many homeowners and renters still do not get it because it is too expensive or they do not believe they are truly at risk. The government does little to enforce the requirement, leaving it mainly up to banks to mandate flood insurance as a condition of getting a home mortgage.
Some wrongly believe they do not need insurance because they can rely on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants, but those cover only up to $33,000 in damages. The typical payout is a few thousand dollars. Flood insurance, in contrast, covers up to $250,000 for the home and another $100,000 for possessions.
Shawn Spencer in Wilmington, North Carolina, spent much of Saturday raking debris out of the ditches in front of his home, hoping that would keep his property from flooding. Like many, he was not sure whether he had flood insurance for his home and the bike shop he runs as a small business.
“I’m not 100 percent certain if I’ve got it” said Spencer, 47, who has lived in Wilmington his entire life and cannot remember flooding this bad. “The government is forever moving the flood plain.”
A key issue with Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Harvey last year is that some of the worst flooding occurred inland, sometimes in areas that were not FEMA-designated flood hazard zones. In some coastal communities, such as the Outer Banks, flood insurance take up rates are upward of 60 percent, but the rate of people with flood insurance drops off sharply just a few miles in from the coastline.