Natural disasters are very difficult to predict and to defend against effectively. In Florida, due to the tremendous amounts of coastline, low-lying land with little elevation and increasing sea levels, these states would seem even more vulnerable to damage caused by hurricanes and flooding than in the past. In the U.S. there are designated flood zones that have their own requirements for insurance, with governmental programs designed to provide some coverage where standard policies may have exclusions in flood zones in coastal areas. A good insurance consultant can advise you through this and help you determine if these risks are insurable. A consultant will look at if the cost of doing so, in the grand scheme of the property acquisition, makes financial sense and provides the coverage you need. Florida's vast coastline also has some areas, due to historic weather patterns, elevation and the configuration of the coastline, that may be more or less vulnerable to damage in a hurricane. These figures and information are available and your insurance consultant should be able to help you find those statistics, which are helpful, but not determinative, in assessing risk and cost.
