Home Price Appreciation in Highest-Risk Natural Hazard Cities 1.7 Times the Overall Market Rate Over Last Decade

ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s premier property database, today released its 2018 U.S. Natural Hazard Housing Risk Index, which found that median home prices in cities with the top 80th percentile for natural hazard housing risk have appreciated 40 percent on average over the last 10 years — 1.7 times the 24 percent… Continue reading Home Price Appreciation in Highest-Risk Natural Hazard Cities 1.7 Times the Overall Market Rate Over Last Decade

Head of NFIP Says Agency Ready for Onslaught of Florence Claims

First Street Foundation flood occurrence

The head of the National Flood Insurance Program told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” Monday that the government is prepared to handle the anticipated rash of claims filed by homeowners in the upcoming days and weeks. “As the days continue, we’ll be able to start to get the number of claims being submitted, get adjusters… Continue reading Head of NFIP Says Agency Ready for Onslaught of Florence Claims

Air Worldwide Estimates Florence Damage Between $1.7B and $4.6B

A hurricane on earth viewed from space. This is a rendered image.

Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that industry insured losses resulting from Hurricane Florence’s winds and storm surge will range from $1.7 billion to $4.6 billion. Note that these estimates do not include the impact of the ongoing flooding from Hurricane Florence’s unprecedented precipitation. “Hurricane Florence, once a Category 4 storm, made landfall near… Continue reading Air Worldwide Estimates Florence Damage Between $1.7B and $4.6B

N.C. Towns Plead for Dam, Levee Upgrades After Second Major Flood in Two Years

A levee breached by muddy floodwater following a storm. A lake is to the left and wooded area to the right. Shot from the open window of a small plane.?http://www.banksphotos.com/LightboxBanners/Aerial.jpg

Paddling through the swamp that was once her front yard Tuesday morning, Megan Curry saw this waterlogged community through the eyes of someone who had lived there all her life. That trash-strewn waterway was really a paved road. Those submerged shingles were the roof of the shed that held Curry’s childhood Christmas ornaments. And this… Continue reading N.C. Towns Plead for Dam, Levee Upgrades After Second Major Flood in Two Years

Hurricane Florence Creating Housing Shortage for Displaced North Carolinians

Finding temporary housing for thousands of North Carolinians displaced by Hurricane Florence could prove more difficult than it was for those uprooted by other recent U.S. storms and hurricanes. That is because Florence’s path blew through some of the state’s smaller cities, where much of the rental housing stock is owned by mom-and-pop landlords. Places… Continue reading Hurricane Florence Creating Housing Shortage for Displaced North Carolinians

Probe of FEMA Chief Brock Long Referred to Prosecutors

3D illustration of private investigator files with the words investigation and fraud

An investigation targeting President Trump’s top emergency-management official has been referred to federal prosecutors to determine whether criminal charges should be pursued, according to people familiar with the probe. Brock Long, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and two other federal employees may have broken as many as six laws as they commuted… Continue reading Probe of FEMA Chief Brock Long Referred to Prosecutors

Atlantic Ocean May Get 5 Named Storms at Once

A Caution Sign in Front of Storm Clouds Warning of Hurricane Season.

For tropical storms, two’s company, three’s a crowd and five is, well, unprecedented. Maybe not for long. Weather forecasters are watching a disturbance in the western Gulf of Mexico that has a 50 percent chance of becoming Tropical Storm Kirk in the next two days, according to the National Hurricane Center. That would make five… Continue reading Atlantic Ocean May Get 5 Named Storms at Once

Florence Is a Tragedy for Homeowners, Not Insurers

insurance protection gap

People in the Carolinas are about to rediscover the difference between the damage a storm causes and what is covered by insurance. Hurricane Florence weakened considerably as it moved over the U.S. coast over the weekend, lessening its speed and causing much less wind damage than had been feared earlier last week. However, heavy rain… Continue reading Florence Is a Tragedy for Homeowners, Not Insurers

Florence Makes Landfall in North Carolina, Hundreds of Thousands Without Power

A hurricane on earth viewed from space. This is a rendered image.

Hurricane Florence has made landfall in North Carolina, but its crawling pace and overwhelming storm surges are setting up hours and hours of destruction and human suffering — with dozens desperately awaiting rescue in one flooded city alone. The Category 1 hurricane, with punishing winds and dumping 3 inches of rain an hour, made landfall… Continue reading Florence Makes Landfall in North Carolina, Hundreds of Thousands Without Power

Why Florence Is Dangerous for Insurers

A stormy view off the end of a fishing pier into the Atlantic Ocean. Rough seas are from the remnants of Hurricane Irma.

Some hurricanes are worse than others—both for people in the way and the insurance industry that tries to understand storms and put a price on their risks. Hurricane Florence is highly unusual both because of where it is heading and the storm surges and flooding it might bring. That could be painful for the industry… Continue reading Why Florence Is Dangerous for Insurers