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Hurricane Haleen, just saying the name,

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it's a lot to take in, right?

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All the pictures, the stories, it's a lot.

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So today we're doing a deep dive on something

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we don't always talk about, insurance.

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Specifically, the insurance mess left behind

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after a storm this big.

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And we've got a lot to cover today, by the way.

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Articles from Barrens, Wired Time,

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even The Washington Post,

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and they all kind of agree on one crazy thing.

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A lot of people, especially inland,

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they just weren't covered for flood damage from Haleen.

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Like, at all.

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Yeah, it's a big blind spot.

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Especially now with the climate changing so fast.

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Totally, most people just assume,

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I'm not on the coast, flooding is not my problem.

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Haleen proved that's not true at all.

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So can you maybe break down how we even got here?

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Like, why is insurance such a mess

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after these storms, especially flooding?

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Well, you gotta go back, way back, to after World War II.

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See, back then, private insurance companies,

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they were having a moment like,

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how do we even measure flood risk?

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Data was bad, potential payouts were huge,

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they weren't into it.

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Makes sense. Right.

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So basically they were like,

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flood insurance, that's the government's problem now.

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Passing the buck. Basically.

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And that's how the National Flood Insurance Program

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was born, the NFIP, they call it.

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Totally separate from your regular homeowner's insurance.

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Okay, so that's why there's even a separate thing

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for flood insurance.

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But what about these FEMA flood maps?

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The Barrens article said those are totally obsolete now.

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Yeah, they're really bad.

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And this is where it gets even worse.

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Those maps, they're mostly using old data, right?

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Like, way old, doesn't factor in climate change at all.

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So they're useless.

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Basically.

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It's like, using a map from the 50s

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to drive around today, you can get lost fast.

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And it's not even just the big stuff, like hurricanes,

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it's those little rivers, creeks,

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you know, the ones that really mess things up during Helene.

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Oh yeah.

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Those almost never show up on FEMA maps.

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They slip through the cracks.

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And that's where that analysis,

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that 2021 from First Street Foundation, that was wild.

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They said way more houses were at risk of,

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what was it, a hundred year flood?

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Way more than FEMA.

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Way more.

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And keep in mind, a hundred year flood

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doesn't actually mean once every hundred years.

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It means there's a 1% chance of it happening every year.

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That's, yeah, that's a little different.

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Right, it's not just a coast thing anymore.

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Definitely not.

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Like, take Asheville, North Carolina.

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Asheville, that's in the mountains.

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Exactly.

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But First Street, they found something like 15% of properties,

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at least, are at risk of flooding in the next 30 years.

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But most people there, no clue,

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they're looking at these old FEMA maps,

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thinking they're safe.

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Wow.

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So you put it all together, bad info, insurance,

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that doesn't make sense.

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Yes.

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It's a recipe for disaster.

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It's kind of scary, right?

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This whole outdated system,

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trying to deal with climate change,

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and it's regular people who get left behind.

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But then on top of that,

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you've got the whole insurance industry itself.

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They're freaking out too,

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and not just because of Haleen.

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Yeah, it's a mess.

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Homeowner's insurance, it's like through the roof.

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Even places hurricanes never go.

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Like, between 2021, 2023, just those couple of years,

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average costs went up almost 20%.

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20%, that's insane.

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It's wild.

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And then there's Florida, right?

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They're like the poster child for this whole thing.

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Total disaster down there.

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Total.

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Average homeowner, you're looking at more than $10,000 a year

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just for insurance.

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No way.

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Yeah.

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And it's so bad.

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Some of the big companies,

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just like Peace Out Florida,

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canceling policies, refusing to cover anyone.

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So what are people supposed to do?

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That's like more than a mortgage payment for some people.

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Right.

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And the thing is, the NFIP, that government program,

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it was supposed to be the safety net,

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but even they're drowning.

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Yeah, what's the deal with that?

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I mean, they're the government, right?

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They have money.

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You'd think so.

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But they're billions in debt

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from other storms, other disasters.

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It's a cycle.

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They need to raise prices to match the risk,

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which like we said, is way higher now.

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And then nobody can afford it.

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Exactly.

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And then there's the politics, right?

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Nobody wants to update the flood maps

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because that means telling people,

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hey, guess what?

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You're in a danger zone now.

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Pay up.

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It's like a lose, lose situation.

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Totally.

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NFIP's going broke.

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Private companies are bailing.

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Homeowners are stuck.

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And that Washington Post article,

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they had some rough stories about North Carolina.

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Like they've had okay rates there, but for how long?

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Right?

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For the people, they had no flood insurance at all.

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I can't even imagine.

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Seriously, it's just, like it's people's lives, right?

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And that Washington Post article,

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there was this one story, Stephanie Buchanan,

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she lost like everything.

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Creek flooded near her place in Bakersville, North Carolina

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and boom, gone.

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And she had no clue her insurance wouldn't cover it.

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It's heartbreaking.

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So many people that go through this awful thing

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and then bam, another hit,

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who like, oh, by the way, you're on your own.

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And even if you do get FEMA money, $42,000,

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that's the max usually, right?

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It's like, what is that gonna cover?

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Seriously, 42,000.

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Some of these houses, that's like

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the deductible on their insurance.

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Exactly.

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It's a band aid on a much bigger problem.

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And it goes on too, even after the cameras are gone,

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the whole economy in these places,

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it gets wrecked, houses lose value, businesses close.

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The Washington Post, they talked to this one expert,

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Landry, I think, and he used this phrase,

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collective amnesia.

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Collective amnesia, what's that?

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It's like, after these big floods,

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housing prices go down, obviously, right?

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But then five, 10 years later, people forget,

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or they convince themselves, oh, it won't happen again,

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and the price will go back up.

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But with climate change, it will happen again.

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Exactly.

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It's like building a house on sand, you know?

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It's not smart.

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So the big question is, like, what now?

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What can we even do?

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Yeah, that's what I wanna know.

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Right, some people, they say we gotta make flood insurance,

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mandatory, like, core insurance.

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Everyone pays in, everyone's covered.

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That makes sense.

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Then how do you pay for it?

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Right.

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How do you make it affordable?

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And then some people, they want bigger FEMA payouts,

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or four FEMA to cover, like, more stuff.

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And that time article we talked about, remember,

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they said every dollar we spend on, like, climate-proofing,

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it could save us, like, $11 later.

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Wow, that's a no-brainer.

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Right, but honestly, even just us, like, people,

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we can do stuff.

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That Wired article they talked about in New Zealand,

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they have this all-hazards insurance.

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One policy covers basically everything.

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Yeah, it's wild.

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I don't know if it would work here, but still,

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makes you think.

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Definitely, so, okay, I think the takeaway here is,

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knowledge is power, right?

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Check your insurance, make sure you're covered,

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don't trust those FEMA maps, and speak up.

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Yes.

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Tell someone, because this is, like,

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way bigger than just one storm, you know?

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Yeah.

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Anyway, that's our deep dive for today.

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Thanks for listening, until next time, stay safe out there.