Insurance isn't covering homeowners that had property damage from Hurricane Helene, and maybe even Milton

Question

Insurance companies are catorgizing hurricane Helene as a flood-driven event, and Milton as a wind and rain event, so homeowners without flood insurance would not be covered for damages. Reading the news article below, it states "While Hurricane Milton was both a wind and rain event, experts say property owners who lacked flood insurance may not be protected from water damage from Milton either, thanks to the way many insurance policies are written these days."

Answer 1

This news article is true. Many people are being denied insurance coverage because of the way insurance is set up. Home insurance covers rain and wind damage caused by hurricanes, but damages from floods have to be covered by a completely separate policy. In places where Hurricane Helene was the most damaging, "less than 1% of homes had flood insurance" states The Insurance Information Institute.

Hurricane Milton hit Florida the hardest, yet only 23% of homeowners had separate flood insurance on top of regular home insurance. Most homeowners don't know that floods aren't covered by regular insurance which screws over people trying to cover damages after natural disasters. Hurricane Helene was considered mostly a flood event while Hurricane Milton was considered a mostly wind and rain event. People are expected to predict which kind of insurance they need based on a storm that hasn't happened yet.

https://resilience.iii.org/disasters/floods/#/year=1992,2022&view=NFIPStatistics#3.5/38.88/-98

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/12/flood-insurance-hurricane-milton-helene