Latest Coastal Headlines

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

Mass. Urges Coastal Communities to Elevate Structures Above Floodwaters

May 27 2008 // Coastal communities in Massachusetts should encourage property owners to elevate their buildings to avoid future flooding and storm surge damage, according to officials advising on storm mitigation efforts.In addition to...

RMS Becomes Partner in Climate Change Initiative

May 22 2008 // Newark, Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has become a partner in the Resilient Coasts Initiative, a collaboration led by Ceres and the Heinz Center. RMS will contribute technical expertise on climate-driven...

Alabama Opens Coastal Home Insurance Market to Captive Insurers

May 19 2008 // The Alabama Legislature has passed a bill that will allow captive insurance companies to sell residential insurance along the Alabama coast. The House and Senate voted without dissent to give final approval to changes in...

Rapid Coastal Growth Places Urgency on Hurricane Forecasts, Chief Says

May 14 2008 // The rapid pace of development along hurricane-prone coasts is adding a new level of urgency for forecasters to more accurately pinpoint potential storm impact zones, the director of the National Hurricane Center...

Captive Companies Could Compete for Coastal Business in Alabama

May 12 2008 // The Alabama Legislature has passed a bill that will allow captive insurance companies to sell residential insurance along the Alabama coast. The House and Senate voted without dissent May 8 to give final approval to...

Alabama Coastal Insurance Bill Opposed by Alfa Passes in Senate

May 5 2008 // Legislation aimed at expanding insurance pool coverage for coastal residents in Alabama and opposed by insurance giant Alfa passed in the state Senate after appearing to be doomed.The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ben Brooks,...

Sandbags Removal to Put North Carolina Coastal Properties at Risk

Apr 7 2008 // North Carolina regulators are preparing to enforce a May 1 deadline to clear the state’s beaches of sandbags that protect homes, hotels and roads.The North Carolina Coastal Resources commission began a meeting in...

Alabama Homeowners Insurance Rates Soar; Coastal Areas Hardest Hit

Apr 7 2008 // Homeowners insurance rates in Alabama jumped by 69.1 percent between 2001 and 2005 — the second-largest rise nationally — despite the fact that Alabamians have lower incomes and are typically insuring less expensive...

North Carolina Coastal Properties at Stake as Sandbag Deadline Nears

Mar 31 2008 // North Carolina regulators are preparing to enforce a May 1 deadline to clear the state’s beaches of sandbags that protect homes, hotels and roads.The North Carolina Coastal Resources commission began a meeting in...

$200M Set Aside for Post-Katrina Coastal Recovery in Mississippi

Mar 25 2008 // Federal legislators joined Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour last week to announce that $200 million in federal funds is set aside for major recovery projects in Hancock County – ground zero for the destructive force of...

State Farm Restricts Storm Coverage for Coastal Alabama

Mar 21 2008 // Reacting to Gulf Coast hurricanes and potential future storm losses, State Farm said it will limit coverage in Alabama for new policies in Mobile and Baldwin counties beginning April 1.State Farm, based in Bloomington,...

Coastlines at Risk from Increased Development

Mar 12 2008 // As more and more of the world’s population moves closer to the sea, the coastal developments being constructed to accommodate the migration raise growing concerns about coastal erosion.That’s the message in an...

Storm Losses Blamed on Coastal Growth, Not Global Warming

Mar 10 2008 // A hurricane that hit Miami in 1926 would cause up to $157 billion in damage if it were to strike today, according to a recent study.U.S. storm costs are rising because of higher populations and wealth on the coasts, not a...

Mississippi Insurance Commissioner to Host Coastal Forum

Mar 3 2008 // Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance, Mike Chaney, and the Mississippi Insurance Department will hold an informational public forum this week for the state’s coastal residents.Featured speakers from the...

Coastal Growth, Not Global Warming, Blamed for Rising Storm Losses

Feb 25 2008 // A hurricane that hit Miami in 1926 would cause up to $157 billion in damage if it were to strike today, according to a recent study.U.S. storm costs are rising because of higher populations and wealth on the coasts, not a...

Minico Offering Self-Storage Property, Wind Coverage in Coastal States

Feb 11 2008 // Phoenix-based MiniCo Inc. reported it signed an agreement with Boulder, Colo.-based International Catastrophe Insurance Managers LLC (ICAT), to begin offering property and wind coverage for coastal locations in Florida,...

Maryland Can’t Stop Allstate Plan to Refuse New Coastal Business

Feb 11 2008 // Maryland Insurance Commissioner Ralph S. Tyler today accepted Allstate Insurance Co.’s decision to refuse new homeowners’ policies in coastal areas.Tyler said his agency’s hands were effectively tied from...

Mississippi Commissioner: Coastal Insurance Rates to Increase

Jan 30 2008 // The state’s new insurance commissioner says Mississippi Gulf Coast residents can expect an insurance rate increase this year.Commissioner Mike Chaney spoke Monday at the opening of the Insurance Department’s...

Climate Change Impacts UK Marine Environment

Jan 17 2008 // Climate change is having “a significant impact” on the marine environment in the UK, according to a new report from the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP).The organization was established in...

Top Insurance Stories in 2007 in East

Dec 31 2007 // New leaders tackled old issues and the region battled fire and rain.1. No day at the beach Insurance markets for coastal properties continued to challenge insurers, agents, policymakers and property owners, despite an...