Hurricane Helene highlights the lack of flood insurance

Hurricane Helene slammed into the southeastern United States after making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Florida on September 26. In CoreLogic’s initial analysis of wind and storm surge loss data for insured residential and commercial properties in Florida and Georgia, losses are estimated to be between 3 and 5 billion dollars. The company will announce new estimates that will include inland flood losses sometime next week.

They were at least 107 deaths in the five states most affected as a result, according to AP News. With about 600 people reported missing in Buncombe County, North Carolina, where 30 people have been killed, the toll is likely to rise.

Natasha Marcus, the Democratic candidate for North Carolina Insurance Commissioner, issued a statement via email about the importance of having adequate flood insurance for homeowners and business owners, as well as the need for more accurate flood mapping and analysis.

Marcus said: “The facts are clear: our climate changes, caused by warming oceans and rising sea levels, are here and getting worse. Helene will be remembered as one of the most devastating storms of this century – so far. More. Devastating weather events are coming. The rebuilding process will be expensive and take years, and many will face obstacles due to gaps in their insurance coverage.”

“Flood insurance is not included in standard homeowners insurance policies. This means that many of the more than million people living in the disaster zone likely do not have coverage for the damages they have suffered. Most flood policies are underwritten through National Flood. Insurance Program (NFIP) and according to the most recent data available, there are less than 6,000 NFIP policies in the NC disaster area. So we have serious vulnerabilities — many North Carolina families and small businesses will not have insurance to cover recovery costs,” Marcus added.

Trevor Burgess, President and CEO of Neptune Flood wrote to him digital insurance, “We expect the economic impact of Hurricane Helene in Florida to rival that of Hurricane Ian in 2022. Only 13 percent of Florida homes have flood insurance, suggesting huge levels of uninsured losses from this storm. The two most common things I hear from my neighbors are one, I wish I had bought flood insurance and two, I wish I had listened to evacuation orders.”

The following data from the Neptune Flood shows the lack of insured properties that may have been affected by last weekend’s destruction. Aerial images of Hurricane Helene damage provided by EagleView.