Florida’s Altmaier Sees His State’s Private Flood Insurance Market Helping Others

June 7, 2021 by

Florida has 90,000 private flood insurance policies in force now– a 300% increase since passing legislation to encourage private insurers to offer the coverage in 2014, according to Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier.

Noting there are 5 million properties in the state that still have no private or government flood coverage at all, Altmaier acknowledges there is still a “long way to go.”

In this interview with Insurance Journal Southeast Editor Amy O’Connor, Altmaier discusses how Florida’s private flood market has grown, the challenges of educating consumers on their risk, and why he thinks changes to the National Flood Insurance Program could be a boon to private market development.

Southeast states looking to protect their residents from the ever-growing and costly threat of flood damage may be helped by Florida’s experience.

Top Photo: The St. Marks River overflows into the city of St. Marks, Fla., ahead of Hurricane Michael, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Brendan Farrington)