On the 28th of September, Hurricane Ian swarmed toward Florida. What was quite literally the calm before the storm, the hurricane has caused historical damage and flooding, changing people's lives forever. While almost the entirety of the landfill has been destroyed, so have the majority of people's homes, leaving the hurricane as a price to pay.
When Hurricane Ian was issued, The National Hurricane Center immediately warned citizens of a "powerful Category." They had to spread the word of a "life-threatening storm surge" with "catastrophic winds and flooding in the Florida Peninsula with millions under evacuation orders." When the storm commenced on Wednesday, winds were hurdling up to 150mph as it hit the southwest coast, majorly near Fort Myers and Cape Coral. Thankfully, since then, the storm has calmed and is now in Category 1, meaning winds will not extend past 90mph. Still, the heavy rain continues and warnings "remain in full effect." Despite the storm, WPTV news claimed, "insurance rates have already been going up in past years in Florida, even as 6 companies went insolvent and another 27 are on a state financial watch list."
Insurance experts have stated businesses are likely to be "pushed to the brink," and while they are not making any solid predictions now, based on past trends, rates have gone up "double-digit." Considering company insurance is backed by the state and growing numbers, Robert Norberg of Arden Insurance in Lantana has stated, "if they can't get standard market companies, they will have to go to Citizens." There are many factors behind hurricane insurance that Floridians are highly aware of. Firstly, most homeowner insurance policies surprisingly do not cover flood damage. According to WPTV, "the estimated cost of the damage to Hurricane Ian is expected to reach into the tens of billions of dollars, and Florida's already stressed insurance industry will bear the costs." ABC News supported this, estimating a "potential reconstruction cost at $258 billion" to cover the 1+million homes that the storm reached. That being said, every homeowner with policyholders could expect to see a 40% rise in rates by next year.
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Important information for policyholders impacted by Hurricane Ian from CFO @JimmyPatronis ⬇️ https://t.co/YjSsdsgjbo
— Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (@FLOIR_comm) September 29, 2022
Although Floridians might be used to tropical storms, hurricane season is not exactly over, despite being considered the Sunshine State. With intense and drastic weather changes, they are home to the highest insurance premiums in the U.S. The heartbreaking views of citizens knee-deep are only the beginning of what they will have to deal with in upcoming reconstruction and restoration. Around the world, we can help by donating to the Florida Disaster Fund.
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