The Carr Report: Why 70 percent of homeowners feel blindsided by insurance after a hurricane

Adobe Stock Photo Hurricanes are among nature’s most devastating forces, leaving behind destruction that affects entire communities. While the immediate concerns focus on physical damage—homes destroyed, streets flooded, and power outages—many homeowners face an unseen storm: financial devastation. Alarmingly, 70 percent of homeowners report feeling blindsided by their insurance coverage after a hurricane, as they realize too late that their policies don’t cover as much as they thought. When Hurricane Helene hit, it wasn’t just the winds and floods that wreaked havoc. Many homeowners discovered they were underinsured, particularly when it came to flood damage. A significant number of homeowners were shocked to learn that their policies did not cover flood-related losses, despite paying premiums for years. The Gaps in Insurance Coverage One of the main reasons for this sense of betrayal is the common misunderstanding about what standard homeowners insurance covers. Most standard policies do not include flood insurance, which must be purchased separately. For many, the realization that their policy excludes flood damage comes too late—often after floodwaters have already filled their homes. This issue became glaringly evident during Hurricane Helene, where homeowners who lived outside of federally designated flood zones thought they didn’t need flood insurance. Unfortunately,...