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 



recent hurricanes," says Bob McKoy, 

 president of the Wilmington Regional 

 Association of Realtors. McKoy met 

 in January with Propes and real estate 

 representatives from 1 1 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 



