File:Coast watch (1979) (20039274513).jpg

Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_11 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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who can advise them further about the regulations that may affect their invest- ment," Dixon says. "I also insist that they check on insurance prior to making a final decision." The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), created in 1968, provides affordable flood insurance for hazardous areas. This insurance has helped bring economic stability and improved standards of construction to these areas. Opponents of the NFIP argue that people would not build in these locations if this insurance were not available. While flood insurance can be bought at an affordable cost, it covers only damage to the structure from flooding. It does not cover the loss of land from erosion. Securing adequate homeowners' insurance for wind damage to coastal property has become a critical issue since Hurricane Fran. Not only are insurers refusing to write new policies and canceling old ones, they also are raising premiums and cutting benefits on existing policies. "There is no law in this state that requires insurance companies to write homeowners' insurance," says Daschiel Propes, chief deputy commissioner of the N.C. Department of Insurance. He adds that his department is concerned about the problem and is working to find a solution for insurers as well as property owners. The North Carolina Beach Plan, established in the 1960s as a market of last resort for beach areas, is costly and was never intended to be the only source of homeowners' insurance for beach properties. "There is a concern that the inability to obtain affordable homeowners' insurance is a serious threat to the residential real estate market as a result of
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recent hurricanes," says Bob McKoy, president of the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors. McKoy met in January with Propes and real estate representatives from 11 other coastal counties to discuss the situation. 'This could have a negative impact on our business. There is a need for us to be proactive in trying to prevent that from happening." And the implications might be felt well beyond the coast. A significant portion of North Carolina's income each year comes from tourism and taxes on property sales. A negative impact on the coastal real estate industry would eventually be felt throughout the state, possibly through a tax increase for all state residents, not just those along the coast. Meanwhile, experts are trying to find more hurricane-resistant methods of construction in coastal areas. "One of the best ways to look at what things work along the coast and what things don't is to go in and look at buildings in areas that have been hit by hurricanes," says Spencer Rogers, North Carolina Sea Grant's coastal erosion and construction specialist. "There are usually some very clear-cut reasons why some survive and some fail. First of all, the cardinal rule is never, ever to get hit by a wave." Rogers isn't joking. The greater damage in a storm is usually sustained from surging water rather than strong winds. At Left: Bulkheads contribute to erosion at Pine Knoll Shores. Scon D.Taylor 18 EARLY SUMMER 1998

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