In the last few years we have seen a dramatic shift in the insurance world. Private insurers are backing out of coastal areas, concerned about the risk of wind damage and flooding from storms. In their place, state government created "insurers of last resort" are coming in to fill the void.

While the intent is to ensure that every home has insurance available, inland homeowners may find that some of their tax dollars are paying for damages to the homes of coastal neighbors. Coastal states are collaborating to start an interstate insurance fund to defray the cost of disastrous storms. Read more about it in the following articles:

        

Insurers are beginning to require that homeowners take accountability before disaster strikes. A new trend among insurers is recommending measures to protect against specific losses, and aggressively inspecting properties prior to insuring them to determine possible vulnerabilities. They could be looking for brush susceptible to wildfires in the West Coast, or for overhanging branches and storm shutters in Florida. At times, inspectors are using satellite images from providers like Google Earth to check properties. More about this trend here: