By comparison, the North Carolina insurance market looks pretty good. No insurer has left the state since 2008, and homeowners pay an average of $2,100 a year – a lot, but one that avoids the sky-high rates in states like Florida, California and Texas.
“Traditionally, we’ve seen homeowner’s insurance rates increase by 8 to 9 percent every few years,” Hornstein says. “This keeps the market stable, especially on the coast.”
Many experts agree that the private market must somehow reflect the true cost of living in a disaster-prone area: in other words should it will be more high-priced for people to move to a city where a storm is more likely to wipe your house off the map. The costs of climate change do not appear to be a deterrent in Florida, one of the fastest-growing states in the country, where coastal regions such as Panama City, Jacksonville and Port St. Lucie, they are blooms. (Some tests suggests that the mere existence of the NFIP protected policyholders from the true costs of living in flood-prone areas).
Asheville, in the heart of Buncombe County, once was hailed as a climatic paradise sheltered from disasters; the city is now staggering after Helene. For many homeowners, compact business owners and renters in Western North Carolina, the damage caused by Helene will be life-changing. FEMA payouts can, at best, bring in only a fraction of the home’s value. Car insurance typically covers all types of damage, including flooding – a compact, radiant spot of relief, but not enough to offset the loss of the family’s main asset.
“People on the coast, at some point after nth storm, they begin to understand the message,” Hornstein says. “But for people in the western part of the state, it’s basically Armageddon. And you can certainly forgive them for failing to appreciate the benefits of these impenetrable contracts sooner.
Marlett says there are insurance models designed to better address the challenges of climate change. For example, New Zealand offers policies that cover all types of damage that can happen to your home; although these policies are increasingly priced to suit different risks, there is no risk of a homeowner experiencing a climate disaster not covered by current policies. But he says it’s hard to expect the U.S. system to get the major overhaul it needs, given how long the fragmented system has been in place.
“I look terribly pessimistic,” he said. “I’m usually an optimist.”
Updated 2024-10-24, 22:00 BST: Hurricane Ivan date has been corrected from 2024 to 2004.