Sea Change In Insurers' Coastal Coverage

Major insurance companies are throwing cold water on America's new passion for living near the ocean and by the bay.

Recently, the biggest companies in the homeowners insurance business announced that they will stop writing new policies in some coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic and will otherwise limit coverage there. They have already reduced their coverage in states more prone to hurricanes.

Some real estate agents say they expect the situation will make it harder to sell second homes and investment properties on the waterfront. "We've already been experiencing problems since last year getting insurance for second-home buyers and the investment class, because many times the properties are more than five miles from the firehouse and there aren't any fire hydrants around, although they could just throw a hose in the pool or in the river," said Schuyler Benson, an owner of Benson & Mangold Real Estate, a brokerage on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

from the Washington Post