Adoption of Insurance Coverage and Modes of Information Transfer: Case Study of Eastern North Carolina Floodplain Residents

Abstract

In September 1999, the passage of Hurricane Floyd created a catastrophic flood in eastern North Carolina. Residents of floodplains across the region were forced to evacuate their homes on short notice. Upon their return a week later, many residents found extensive damage to their homes, and total losses amounted to billions of dollars. A normal assumption would be that many of the individual losses within the 100-year flood zone would be covered under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The Floyd flood, however, was so catastrophic that areas outside the 100-year flood zone often found themselves under several feet of water. There has been limited examination of the effects of flooding on areas outside the NFIP zone. This study was designed to determine how much insurance coverage existed both inside and outside the 100-year zone, and why residents did or did not purchase flood insurance. Pertinent information was obtained by means of a questionnaire delivered to floodplain residents a year after the flood. The results show that whereas a large number of flood-zone residents did not have insurance coverage, almost none of the residents outside the zone were covered. It was also found that respondents received little information concerning flooding potential of their property from realtors, mortgage officers, or insurance agents. These three groups of agents play an important role in house purchasing, and should provide new homeowners with important information concerning house location on the floodplain, flood vulnerability, and insurance availability.