Report shows many in at-risk areas without flood insurance
NEW YORK — The number of Americans with flood insurance is on the rise, yet Hurricane Florence is likely to expose that many homeowners in the Carolinas and other vulnerable regions remain unprotected.
An analysis of federal flood insurance records by The Associated Press found there were roughly 5.1 million active flood insurance policies in the U.S. as of July 31, up from 4.94 million a year earlier.
The Carolinas had modest gains — a 2.5 percent increase in South Carolina and a 3.5 percent increase in North Carolina.
But large gaps in coverage remain. South Carolina is the second-highest insured state for flooding, with roughly 65 percent of properties in flood hazard areas insured. But in North Carolina, where forecasters say the storm might bring the most destructive round of flooding in state history, flood coverage is less common, with only 35 percent of at-risk properties insured.
After blowing ashore as a hurricane with 90 mph winds, Florence spent much of the weekend atop the Carolinas as it pulled warm water from the ocean and hurled it onshore. Storm surges, flash floods and winds scattered destruction widely.
Most of the gains observed in the federal flood insurance data over the past 12 months occurred in Texas, with about 145,000 new policies. Insurance experts say that Hurricane Harvey helped increase public awareness that homeowners need flood insurance.
Still, federal officials say there are too many Americans in vulnerable areas who lack flood insurance.
Property insurance typi- Floodwaters inundate the town of Trenton, N.C., Sunday. Only 35 percent of at-risk properties in the state are insured. cally doesn’t cover flooding, and flood insurance remains by and large a federal government program run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FEMA requires most homeowners with mortgages living in certain designated areas to buy flood insurance. But there are numerous neighborhoods across the U.S. that are vulnerable to flooding but where insurance isn’t mandatory, and many residents choose not to enroll — sometimes with dire consequences.
In the five years before Hurricane Harvey walloped Houston last year, for instance, the number of homes covered in the city dropped 11 percent. The monster storm ended up flooding more than 150,000 homes in the area, leaving many people digging into their savings to repair their houses.
Data show that even with the increase in flood insurance coverage over the past year, the number of homes covered is down 3 percent in North Carolina and 6 percent in South Carolina compared with five years ago.
Researchers and insurance experts say many Americans choose not to get flood insurance because of a belief that flooding will not happen to them, or if it does, federal disaster assistance cover their losses.
But federal disaster relief typically consists of lowinterest loans — money that must be repaid. The maximum amount of disaster assistance available to an individual or household is $34,000, which is typically not enough to cover repairs caused by flooding. The average damage caused by flooding during Harvey was around $80,000, according to the Texas Department of Insurance.