Insuring oceanfront properties in Alabama may be difficult amid hurricane season

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — An expected busy hurricane season raises the question of insurance coverage on coastal properties. Some families are having difficulty getting coverage for their beachfront houses and condos.

When looking at getting a property right along the coast, it will come with a high cost, not just through real estate value but also insurance. The Alabama Department of Insurance says companies aren’t required to take risks on insuring properties and right now is “the perfect storm.”

“The regular, big insurance players don’t write coverage down there, and so those things along with the climate change and the storms and the frequency all contribute to that,” Dusty Smith, consumer services manager with the state Department of Insurance said.

The state says if people with coastal properties have been dropped by their insurance company and aren’t sure why, their representatives can talk to the company and help figure out the reason.

“It could be a myriad of reasons. It could be financial scores, it could be the age of the dwelling, the age of the roof, especially on the coast, if some of their systems haven’t been replaced in a while,” Smith said.

Some families say while insurance and maintenance costs are high for coastal properties, it’s worth it.

“Some of that vitamin S.E.A., that’s good,” Linda Kimbrough said.

The Kimbroughs have had a house on St. George Island, FL since 1996. In that time, they have been dropped by insurance twice.

“Just this last year, we had to get some new insurance and we paid for it dearly,” Kimbrough said. “We tried to call up here and get some insurance companies to take us, they won’t do it.”

While the Kimbroughs say they’re lucky not to have had horrible damage in the last nearly 30 years, having good insurance coverage helps them have peace of mind through hurricane season.

“When they show these spaghetti things going every which way and I said, it’s hard to predict,” Kimbrough said. “We’ve been blessed that it has missed us like it has.”

The state Department of Insurance recommends people look at independent agencies for coverage along the coast but says insurance costs have increased for all coastal states.

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