Florence likely to expose gaps in flood insurance
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Source: The Associated Press
NEW YORK: The number of Americans with flood insurance is on the rise, yet Hurricane Florence is likely to make it painfully clear that too many homeowners in the Carolinas and other vulnerable regions remain unprotected.
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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.
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.
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But federal disaster relief typically consists of low-interest 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.
Read more: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article218494210.html
This article provides a good current summary of the status and recent history of flood insurance in America. According to the article, the National Flood Insurance Program, which is run by FEMA was already deep in the red before Florence came along.
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