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Insurance rates go up, prices go down and rebuilding after a hurricane is now mission impossible


In Florida, hurricanes aren’t just a seasonal worry anymore — they’re becoming stronger, more frequent, and a lot more expensive. As storms cause more damage, families across the state are facing sky-high insurance prices and fewer options to protect their homes. From rising premiums to companies pulling out of the market, many Floridians are left wondering: how much longer can they afford to stay? So, let’s have a deeper look at this unfair situation.

A couple lost their home because of a hurricane

Dayna and Matt Fancher lived in Fort Myers Beach, a city near the sea. In 2022, a very strong hurricane called Ian destroyed their home. Since then, they are still paying their home insurance, even though now it costs twice as much. What’s more, they are in a legal fight with the insurance company because they don’t want to pay them enough to rebuild their home. So, they had to take out loans to be able to live in their home again.

Why is this happening in Florida?

Florida has had many strong hurricanes in recent years, and that has made insurance more expensive. In fact, now Florida is the most expensive place in all of the United States to insure a home. On average, a person can end up paying about $10,000 a year just for insurance.

In Fort Myers Beach, for example, insurance went from costing $9,000 to almost $14,000 in just five years.

Some companies stopped offering insurance

After Hurricane Ian, a lot of people asked their insurance for help. More than half a million claims were made for home damage. Since insurance companies lost so much money (up to $65 billion), many of them went bankrupt or stopped offering insurance in Florida.

Other national companies, like Farmers, also said that they will no longer insure homes in Florida because there is too much hurricane risk.

Climate change is making everything worse

Experts say this is happening because the climate is changing. Because of global warming, the sea is hotter and that makes hurricanes stronger and with more rain. For example, Hurricane Helene brought a lot of water because the hot air trapped more moisture. This makes it more expensive to fix everything, and that’s why insurance prices go up.

What is happening with insurance?

Many people can no longer pay for regular insurance, so they are using a special state company called Citizens. But since more and more people are using that company, prices are also going up there. An expert says that if this continues, in the Tampa area (also in Florida), insurance could cost more than double by the year 2055.

This is also happening in other places. For example, in Sacramento, California, insurance is going up because of wildfires.

What about house prices?

Since there are more hurricanes now, many people no longer want to buy homes in some areas. Because of that, house prices have gone down. In Fort Myers Beach, homes are worth about $200,000 less than before Hurricane Ian. And in Sanibel Island, another beach area, homes were worth $1.3 million before, and now they’re worth about $868,000.

Some people can no longer leave

Joanne Klempner lives part of the year in Fort Myers Beach. She says she already spent a lot fixing her home and can’t sell it, so she has to stay. She is worried about the future of her community if the hurricanes continue. She says that before, when there hadn’t been a hurricane for 30 years, living on the beach was worth it. But after having three hurricanes in just a year and a half, she’s not so sure anymore.

What will happen with Fort Myers Beach?

Despite everything, some people still believe that Fort Myers Beach is a good place. The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Jacki Liszak, says that people are building stronger and taller homes so they can resist floods better. She believes that people will keep coming because it’s a beautiful place to live and visit. Would you live in a place like Florida where hurricanes frequently occur?



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