Emergency managers and first responders gathered for the sixth annual Hurricane Conference in Greenville, N.C., and one new item shows promise in mitigating flood damage claims.
Dr. Rick Knabb with the National Hurricane Center in Miami spoke about a new storm sure predictor that will help emergency managers warn residents about flooding potential.
“With the development of that new product,” Dr. Knabb told those attending the conference, “that gives us an idea on when the coastal storm surge might occur, which will allow us to make good operational decisions about evacuations and things like that.”
Mitigating losses from flooding would be welcome news for clients who have already been hit with higher premiums, thanks to changes made last year in the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (HFIAA). Flood insurance clients were hit with premium increases ranging from 15% to 18% on primary residence properties, and up to 25% on secondary homes or residences that suffered repeated losses.
Not to mention new surcharges of $25 for primary homes and $250 for all others.
Hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30, and
Lexington Insurance has a wealth of emergency preparedness and protection information for those looking to prepare for hurricane season.
“Because standard homeowners insurance doesn’t cover flooding, it’s important to have protection from floods associated with hurricanes,” states Lexington, “floods associated with hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rains and other conditions that impact the U.S.”
Even better news for those living along the coast and for insurers are predictions of a below normal seasons for severe storms, with six to 11 named storms and three to six expected to develop into hurricanes.
That should help the billions in debt that was incurred by the National Flood Insurance Program after the large losses from Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. That $24 billion debt increased premiums by 25% per year, and reduced the number of NFIP policies receiving premium subsidies until they reflected the residence’s actual risk.
