The report, by online insurance broker Assurance, ranked 75 US beach towns based on factors such as total home value at risk, percentage of homes at risk of flooding, percentage of population housed in houses at risk and the number of hurricanes between 1842 and 2021.
“Owning a beach house can be a dream come true, but it’s important to consider the potential risks that come with it,” Assurance said.
Galveston stands out, the study notes, because it faces a projected sea level rise of 1.9 feet by 2040 according to Climate Central, a politically neutral nonprofit organization based in Princeton, NJ. That’s 58.3% higher than the national average, according to Assurance, and the main factor propelling Galveston to the top of this list.
The historic island community of some 53,000 people was the only city in Texas to make the top 10 in the study. It was followed by several New Jersey beach towns – Avalon, Ocean City and Wildwood, in that order – which face a projected sea level rise of 1.6 feet and have a relatively high concentration of high-rise properties. value, making investments riskier.
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Galveston ranked ninth in the United States for the value of its at-risk beach homes, said Assurance, which pegged it at $441 million.
The city was founded in 1838 but inhabited from the 16th century. The 1900 hurricane that devastated the island is still ranked as the deadliest natural disaster in US history, killing at least 8,000 people according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The study comes as insurers are increasingly sounding the alarm over natural disasters, exacerbated by climate change, which are increasing their operating costs in some regions. In recent weeks, State Farm and Allstate have stopped selling homeowners insurance policies in California.
Elsewhere, companies are raising rates, limiting coverage or withdrawing from areas susceptible to natural disasters brought on by climate change. Florida and Louisiana, in particular, have struggled for years to maintain insurance markets due to hurricane damage.
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew leveled Homestead, Florida, bringing down some insurance companies and leaving others in the state wary of writing or renewing policies. Nearly 10 years later, Louisiana was hit by hurricanes Delta, Laura, Zeta and Ida in 2020 and 2021, forcing some insurers to shut down and others to leave the state or simply refuse to renew insurance. fonts.
Texas, meanwhile, is the second most expensive state for home insurance in the United States, behind only Oklahoma, according to a NerdWallet analysis from this year. The average cost of home insurance in Texas is $3,875 a year, or about $323 a month, the finance company found.