Hurricane Idalia Strikes Amid Florida Flood Insurance Crisis
Hurricane Idalia's course from Florida to the Carolinas brought flooding and heavy rainfall to regions where homeowners have dropped their federal flood insurance, while commercial property owners continue to drive growth in the private flood market.
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The huge potential for damage associated with flooding makes it even more important that communities be able to rebuild to higher standards after an event, said Alan Rubin, a principal with Blank Rome LLP's Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Team. FEMA flood maps can have a significant bearing on whether new buildings are up to code and whether a community would be entitled to higher limits for insurance coverage, he said.
Rubin, who helped lead recovery efforts following Hurricane Andrew in 1992, said that Florida communities need state support to help analyze their flood risk and apply to FEMA for flood mitigation projects. He said he would expect residents facing high NFIP rates to support mitigation measures that could entitle them to premium discounts.
"There can't be any more of the 'we're not going to flood.' There's no area that's not going to flood in the state of Florida anymore," Rubin told Law360 in an interview.
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"Hurricane Idalia Strikes Amid Florida Flood Insurance Crisis," by Eli Flesch was published in Law360 Insurance Authority on September 5, 2023.