Latest Coastal Headlines

All the headlines from our Coastal Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Louisiana Flood Board Votes to Continue Oil, Gas Lawsuit

Aug 20 2013 // A New Orleans-area flood control board has refused to back down from its lawsuit seeking damages from nearly 100 oil and gas companies over coastal erosion allegedly caused by dredging and digging for canals and pipelines....

Report: More Reforms Needed for Flood, Wind Insurance Programs

Aug 15 2013 // A new report this week from the Union of Concerned Scientists, a watchdog group, warns that sea level rise and worsening storm surge are increasing both the risks of flooding in coastal communities and the potential for...

Alabama Coastal Residents Bracing for Major Flood Insurance Increases

Jul 30 2013 // Flood maps aren’t due out for Alabama until next December, but the specter of rising flood insurance premiums is undeniable.Congress, seeking to undo the damage done to the National Flood Insurance Program after...

Coastal Lawmakers Seek Delays in Flood Insurance Changes

Jul 22 2013 // Just a year after Congress approved changes in the oft-criticized federal flood insurance program, protests from homeowners facing higher premiums have coastal lawmakers pressing for delays to preserve below-cost rates for...

Coastal Lawmakers Seek Delays in Flood Insurance Changes, Rate Hikes

Jul 8 2013 // Just a year after Congress imposed significant changes in the government’s oft-criticized flood insurance program, howls of protest from homeowners facing higher premiums have coastal lawmakers pressing for delays...

Homeowners Struggle with Rising Insurance Costs

Jun 17 2013 // When Stan Virden moved into his 2,400-square-foot house overlooking a rock-lined canal in 1996, he paid less than $1,000 a year for homeowners insurance. Now, as he seeks to move to Atlanta to be near family, Virden says...

Insured Property Values in Coastal States Top $10 Trillion; Florida Has Most at Risk; Miami Ranks 2nd Among Metros

Jun 17 2013 // In separate reports AIR Worldwide and CoreLogic estimated insured property values in coastal areas of the United States reaching into the trillions of dollars.CoreLogic, focusing on residential properties exposed to storm...

Coastal Homeowners Upset with Insurers, Regulators Over Surge in Insurance Costs

Jun 4 2013 // When Stan Virden moved into his 2,400-square-foot house overlooking a rock-lined canal in 1996, he paid less than $1,000 a year for homeowners insurance.Now, as he seeks to move to Atlanta to be near family, Virden says...

East, Gulf Coast Insured Properties Top $10 Trillion: AIR

Jun 3 2013 // The estimated insured value of residential and commercial properties in just the coastal counties of the U.S. East and Gulf Coast states now exceeds $10 trillion. The estimated value of these properties in the coastal...

Hurricane Season and Florida’s Insurance System: Living on Borrowed Time?

Jun 3 2013 // Mother Nature has been kind to Florida’s coastline lately with a record run of seven years without a hurricane making landfall, allowing property insurers time to re-stock their depleted coffers.As a result, before...

Frontline Insurance Approved for Coastal Homeowners in Delaware

May 15 2013 // Frontline Insurance, a provider of coastal homeowners coverage, is now licensed in Delaware. Frontline already operates in Florida and South Carolina and recently announced a new coverage program for Alabama residents,...

Employees of Texas Coastal City OK’d for Guns at Work

May 8 2013 // Employees of a South Texas city who have concealed handgun permits will be allowed to take their weapons to work starting Aug. 1.The Aransas Pass City Council on night amended a ban on weapons for city workers to allow for...

New Homeowners Insurance Program Available to Coastal Residents in Alabama

May 6 2013 // Frontline Homeowners Insurance, a coastal-focused insurer, is now offering wind and flood coverage to Alabama residents with coastal properties in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. Frontline Homeowners Insurance offers a...

Q&A: A Look at Flood Maps and What They Mean in New Jersey

Apr 15 2013 // Earlier in April, the federal government announced that it would not give grants to repair homes badly damaged by Superstorm Sandy unless the owners agreed to make sure they are in compliance with new advisory flood...

Court to Review Mississippi Coastal Landowners’ Climate Change Suit

Apr 9 2013 // A federal appeals court has agreed to review a three-judge panel’s ruling that a group of Mississippi coastal landowners can sue energy and chemical companies on allegations that linked greenhouse gas emissions to...

Crowded U.S. Coastal Areas to Get Even More Crowded: NOAA

Mar 25 2013 // If current population trends continue, the already-crowded U.S. coast will see population grow from 123 million people to nearly 134 million people by 2020, putting more of the population at increased risk from extreme...

Texas Lawmaker Scolds Insurance Industry over Coastal Coverage

Mar 14 2013 // A state senator in Texas is taking the insurance industry to task for what he perceives as its disinterest in coming up with new approaches to solving coastal windstorm insurance issues.In a Senate committee meeting on...

New Anti-Flooding Ideas Urged for South Louisiana

Jan 28 2013 // It’s not possible for every south Louisiana community to be surrounded by a levee, but one state group says there are options available to reduce the risk of flooding.The Advocate reports a new subcommittee of the...

App May Help Track Impact of Louisiana Coastal Losses

Jan 24 2013 // An Internet-based app under development may help a Web app may help document the disappearing culture of south Louisiana communities are they are displaced by coastal erosion.Called “Vanishing Points,” the app...

Coastal Insurance Group Becomes a Higginbotham Company

Dec 12 2012 // Fort Worth-based independent insurance firm, Higginbotham, and Coastal Insurance Group LLC announced the merger of their operations in Friendswood, Texas.Coastal Insurance Group, a personal and commercial insurance broker...