Hurricane Ian recently damaged properties along the Florida coastline, impacting residential homes across the state. With major flood damage, most affected by the storm will need to utilize their insurance policy to help pay for the damages. Some insurance companies have made this process easier by eliminating the timely paperwork process.
This article will examine how the properties in Florida held up after Hurricane Ian and how insurance comes into play when trying to recover homes affected by the damage. Additionally, it will discuss how insurance policies in Florida differ from those in other states.
Flood Insurance in Florida
Though there are many properties and homes located near the shorelines across the United States, they might not be as affected as those in Florida. Since there is water surrounding the state, more homes have the potential to flood by rising sea levels or tropical storms. Additionally, Florida is near the tropics and the equator, which attracts more wind and damaging storms.
Florida flood insurance statistics
Home insurance policies do not include flood insurance, so homeowners must acquire an additional policy to protect from natural disasters. While even one inch of flooding can cause up to $25,000 in damage to a single home, only 35% of properties in high-risk flood zones career flood insurance policies. Therefore, many homeowners are susceptible to substantial financial burdens if their home suffers damage during a storm.
For single to four-family structures, flood insurance covers up to $250,000 in building repairs and $100,000 in item replacement. The amount of coverage continues to increase with the property’s size.
How to acquire flood insurance
Homeowners in Florida can seek flood insurance through a private provider or the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). FEMA manages the program to provide flood insurance to property owners, renters, and businesses to help communities quickly recover from disasters like hurricanes. Over 23,000 communities participate in the program. Eligible participants can call the program to find a provider.
Hurricane Ian left almost 2 million homes in Florida without power and caused substantial damage of up to $57 billion. Ian reached a Category 4, with winds reaching up to 150 miles per hour and between eighteen to twenty inches of rainfall in areas. The storm wiped out thousands of residential properties and left others with substantial damage. Residents currently occupy shelters and other temporary housing until their homes become habitable, meaning many must rely on a flood insurance policy to fund repairs.
Hurricane Ian not only caused detrimental damage to properties all around the state but to the insurance companies as well. With billions of dollars in damages, insurance providers must now dole out large sums of money to homeowners with a policy. Multiple large payments within a similar timeline can bankrupt smaller private lenders, forcing them to go out of business.
Over the past two years, about a dozen private firms have gone out of business, leaving homeowners without coverage. Hurricane Ian could close more firms.
How To Use Your Florida Flood Insurance Policy To Fix Damaged Homes
After Hurricane Ian, most Floridian residents need to inform their insurance provider that they will need coverage to cover the costs of fixing their homes. Though this usually isn’t always a big deal, due to the number of people needing coverage, insurance companies must now deal with a high volume of paperwork to implement their policies. It would be almost impossible to gather and organize all the necessary paperwork for those seeking coverage.
To try to resolve this issue, Florida recently received approval to proceed with a program that lets eligible policyholders access their insurance to receive their funds without going through the lengthy paperwork process. This will be extremely beneficial to those in Florida affected by Hurricane Ian as they can use their Florida flood insurance promptly.
To receive funds, residents must fill out the state-provided waiver. This waiver will allow residents with flood insurance to access a portion of their claims without going through the entire process. The waiver provides NFIP Standard Flood Insurance Policy Holders $5,000 for combined building and contents losses, or up to $20,000 for policyholders who can provide FEMA with photographic evidence”.
Click here for more information on this policy.
How Much Is Flood Insurance?
Cost Of Flood Insurance in Florida
Though this number will vary depending on how much coverage you will need, the average cost of flood insurance in Florida is $613 per year. However, some homeowners who live in high-risk flood zones will likely have to pay more for a policy. Flood insurance can become expensive for many Florida residents.
In Miami, a high-risk flood zone, the average resident generates a median income of $44,581, meaning an average insurance policy of $613 accounts for 1.37% of their income. While this may seem fair in return for protection against a storm, in the country’s most expensive housing market, many residents do not have extra income to allocate toward additional insurance policies.
Cost Of Flood Insurance in Other Areas of the County
Though areas in Florida are more susceptible to flooding than others, the national average of flood insurance for those living in the U.S isn’t much different than Florida’s. Overall, homeowners pay between $600-1,500 for flood insurance around the U.S.
Other states near bodies of water and susceptible to flooding include New York and California. In New York, the average cost of flood insurance is much higher than Florida’s at $1,200. Though this number is much higher, not as many homes need or even have flood insurance for their homes. Only 2% of homes in New York have flood insurance. In California, the average cost of flood insurance is much closer to Florida’s average, reigning in at $880 per year.
Even though these numbers may be higher than Florida’s average, this could be because fewer homes have flood insurance, and the state only requires it in a few areas. In Florida, it is much more likely lenders will require a flood insurance policy on your property to protect them.
Conclusion
Hurricane Ian caused substantial damage to many properties across the state, displacing residents and leaving many homes inhabitable. Many homeowners require access to their flood insurance policy to fund the cost of home repairs. With Florida’s recent waiver, residents should now be able to access those funds quickly and avoid copious amounts of paperwork.
Floridians face a series of difficulties when trying to access flood insurance policies. With private providers continuing to face hardships in natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, it becomes increasingly difficult for eligible property owners to find a firm that will provide a policy. Additionally, unaffordable housing markets leave residents with less financial freedom to acquire policies that protect their money in the future. Homeowners in Florida face a difficult decision: spend the money to purchase a policy now, or deal with the overwhelming cost of repairs if a storm does strike?
