Hurricane Ian’s Toll Is Severe. Lack of Insurance Will Make It Worse.

Data shows that most of the homes in the path of Hurricane Ian lack flood insurance.

According to an actuarial firm that works with the program, less than 20% of homes in the counties that were told to evacuate have flood insurance.

Almost half of the homes within those counties have flood insurance. Almost a tenth of homes in areas outside the floodplain have flood coverage, despite the fact that many of them are likely to have been damaged by rain or storm surge.

The small share of households with flood insurance demonstrates the challenges posed by the country's approach to rebuilding after disasters, a mix of public and private funding that is under strain due to climate change.

The financial toll of climate change for households and communities could become ruinous if people can't afford to rebuild after disasters.

Flood insurance is offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency because regular homeowners' insurance policies don't pay for damage from flooding. According to data from Forbes, the coverage costs around $1,000 a year. Without it, homeowners who have been flooded are left with either savings, loans or charity to rebuild.

It will take longer for the affected communities to rebuild because of the low takeup rates for federal flood insurance.

Nancy Watkins said that many people think their homeowners insurance policy will cover them. They may think that federal disaster aid will make them whole.

The New York Times reported in July that federal disaster assistance won't help rebuild homes. Congress can give more money, but it usually takes years for that money to reach survivors of disasters.

Despite being exposed to hurricanes more than any other state, less than half of homes in the floodplain across Florida had flood insurance last year.

Florida is near the top of the list. The numbers are much lower in other high risk states. The majority of homes in Texas have flood insurance. In Georgia, the number was 20.7 percent.

Only 11 percent of homes in the flood plain of West Virginia have flood insurance.

The number of homeowners with flood insurance fell after a recent decision at FEMA that changed the way prices for flood insurance are determined.

The cost of flood insurance was set by FEMA last fall. Premiums used to be determined using more general information, such as the home's location.

The new pricing structure means that the rates for high-risk homes are closer to the actual cost of the risk. FEMA made the change because it wanted the insurance program to be self reliant after big flood events.

The agency wanted people to think twice about living in dangerous areas because of the threat to property.

Rate increases were steep for some homes.

The number of homes that have federal flood insurance coverage began to fall even faster after the new prices were implemented.

FEMA data shows that the number of households covered by the insurance program has gone down by more than 165,000 since the new pricing scheme was implemented.

In Florida alone, the number of homes with federal flood insurance has gone down by more than 4,000 households a month since the new pricing began.

The number of disasters the agency is dealing with made FEMA representatives unavailable.

The heart of FEMA is in the right place. He said it was disappointing that the numbers had gone down.