What happens when those beach houses fall in the ocean?
Posted by guylefleur@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 97 comments
Does insurance make the homeowners whole? or are a lot of them ish out of luck and left with nothing? Seems a lot of the owners are likley wealthy and these are probably vacation homes.
PiermontVillage@reddit
Normal home owners insurance won’t cover it. You must purchase a separate flood insurance policy, typically from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), to cover water damage from outside sources.
Darkdragoon324@reddit
Is it still water damage when your entire house is swept up by a wave and carried out to sea?
Jass0602@reddit
I’m a native Floridian and it boggles my mind seeing new high rise condos being built like 1000 feet from the ocean… let alone on an island or cliff that sees regular storms.
waynofish@reddit
A barrier island is constantly moving toward the mainland, basically, wind blows sand from the ocean side and deposits it on the sound side. So the ocean fills in where the sand was and the sand starts filling in the sound/bay behind the island. Over the years the island has moved shoreward so what was built beyond the dune lines 50 years ago are now directly on the beach with no dunes for protection..
They moved the Cape Hatteras lighthouse back in the 90's as it was going to be claimed real soon. I think it was 1/4 or 1/2 mile or so from the shoreline when built in 1870.
Perfect example to see this is an arial shot of Ocean City, Md. and Assateque Island. They were connected until a hurricane opened an inlet. Ocean city has been built up, and they are constantly building up the beach. Assateque is an uninhabited state park and national seashore that is left alone. It has "migrated about 1/4 mile west since 1933.
Your basically not stopping Mother Nature.
stevepremo@reddit
I doubt flood insurance covers the collapse of the cliff on which the house sits. Generally, that's caused by wave action, not floodwaters.
SabresBills69@reddit
insurance wouldn’t cover hurricane damage when a house was broken apart then the storm surge or rain caused water damage claiming it’s flooding
BelethorsGeneralShit@reddit
Storm surge no, rain yes. A flood is external water ingress from ground level. If a hurricane rips off your roof and it rains inside your house that isn't a flood and is covered.
Mayor__Defacto@reddit
If you have windstorm coverage.
BelethorsGeneralShit@reddit
Wind damage is one the basic perils covered in virtually all homeowner's insurance policies.
If the wind is from a hurricane, you may have a different hurricane deductible that's a percentage of your dwelling coverage rather your regular all perils deductible, but it's still going to be covered.
Jass0602@reddit
Yes has how it is here in Florida. My deductible is around 1k for all perils, but 2k for hurricanes. I guess they assume it’s a lot more likely.
Chemical-Mix-6206@reddit
Covered if you have the right type of coverage. I have a policy that specifically includes hurricane coverage.
SabresBills69@reddit
That’s what was happening post gulf hurricanes recently. insurance companies were not covering hurricane damage by claiming a flood.
notonrexmanningday@reddit
Ah yes, the famous cliffs of Florida and the Gulf Coast...
stevepremo@reddit
I'm speaking of California. Santa Cruz in particular.
dachjaw@reddit
Even that can be tricky. Rising water vs wave action vs windswept water can all be handled differently.
notonrexmanningday@reddit
My parents had a homeowners policy that covered "storm damage". They didn't learn that that didn't include flooding until it was too late.
My dad was like, "wtf do they think caused this flood?"
ATLien_3000@reddit
They should've smashed a hole in the roof.
notonrexmanningday@reddit
Damage from falling trees isn't covered.
PrimaryHighlight5617@reddit
Falling objects is always covered... Unless you do not have wind and hell coverage and wind blew the tree over.
notonrexmanningday@reddit
Tell me more about hell coverage
ATLien_3000@reddit
If you have an insurance policy that doesn't cover damage from a tree falling on your home, get a new insurance policy.
Emily_Postal@reddit
People don’t read their policies.
notonrexmanningday@reddit
Well, it's a lot of words.
Emily_Postal@reddit
They also don’t understand insurance which is bigger issue. It should be taught in high school.
notonrexmanningday@reddit
Or, insurance companies could just be upfront about what the policy actually does and does not cover.
But no, put the blame on the people who are being taken advantage of.
Emily_Postal@reddit
It’s usually the independent agents who aren’t upfront about the terms.
notonrexmanningday@reddit
Hm. Maybe there should be some kind of regulatory body that holds them accountable
-Boston-Terrier-@reddit
The insurance company would likely answer that question with: "Insufficient drainage, overflow of rivers, rising groundwater, etc".
caryn1477@reddit
This.
PrimaryHighlight5617@reddit
Flood isn't the issue. Tides are predictable.
It's not about the water reaching the house. It's about the house falling into the water.
Look at pictures of beach cliff homes in Dana Point CA 😬
Mayor__Defacto@reddit
NFIP covers up to $250k. Not a penny more.
D-Rich-88@reddit
I think OP is talking about land eroding from under a house and it falling off a cliff, basically. Flood insurance isn’t going to cover that.
Ineedzthetube@reddit
There are a bunch of homeowners who purchased homes in an area that have since fallen down the cliff in California. They are angry that FEMA won’t pay off their multimillion dollar mortgages. More than a few were aware the problem existed before purchase, and still bought.
D-Rich-88@reddit
Yeah, I grew up in Pacifica and remember seeing one go down every few years. There were no surprises for new techie buyers
TheBimpo@reddit
Assuming we're talking about places like the Outer Banks, flood coverage is different from barrier islands, ocean waves, and receding beaches. None of these homes would be insurable by the time they get swallowed by the ocean. Those islands are constantly changing and homeowners assume massive risk buying those houses.
Aggressive_Ad_5454@reddit
It happened where I lived. A few houses on a barrier island were destroyed by sea level rise, specifically a storm surge at high tide with 4m (12 ft) waves. This is in the Gulf of Maine on the North Atlantic. Winter storms happen there.
The houses have not been rebuilt. And will not be.
The owners were able to make some flood insurance claims.
It was a problem for the town because those houses were valued highly for real-estate taxes. That’s how we pay for schools here in the US. Their destruction pushed up the tax rate a bit on everybody else.
( Should their risky locations be factored into their tax valuation? That’s a staggeringly complex question when perverse incentives come into play.)
Proof-Emergency-5441@reddit
Tax valuations are based on like kind sales in many areas. Location based isn't an option and would be extremely arbitrary.
That's why the insurance is high. That can be based on the location of an individual lot.
Aggressive_Ad_5454@reddit
You move to town and run for town tax assessor. Or conservation commission. Or select board. Those elected folks get vast amounts of pressure and very little pay. It’s not so simple.
Proof-Emergency-5441@reddit
My tax statement lists the 3-5 houses they use as the like kind comp. It actually is.
PrimaryHighlight5617@reddit
Hi! I am an insurance agent licences in CA, AZ, NV, GA, AL, TN, MS, and AR.
Why does insurance exist? To lower your risk by spreading it across a ton of people.
You only NEED home owners insurance when a mortgage company requires it. It guarantees them that if your home burns down I can be rebuilt. Otherwise the mortgage company risks foreclosing on an empty plot
Let's talk about california.
These beachfront properties are EXPENSIVE but insurance doesn't pay for the value of the property... they pay the rebuild value. Either way, standard insurance won't cover most of them. Non-standard insurance, $$$$$$$$, might but for a price.
15,000 is not unheard of as a genuine, competitive rate.
But considering the fact that these peach run properties are so expensive a lot of the buyers are actually cash buyers. They don't need a mortgage they don't need HOI.
At that point they decide whether they want insurance. If the policy costs 15k/year, and would only cost 300K to rebuild.... What are the odds that they will have a catastrophic loss within the next 20 years?
That's the math. Some people take the risk.
In my opinion you should only take the risk if you are wealthy. I have seen far too many elderly people have something happen to their homes and then I'm talking to them trying to get them a policy for the trailer they now live in.
Mayor__Defacto@reddit
The decision is ultimately only between self insuring and buying insurance. If you don’t have the assets to self insure, you have to buy insurance. It’s a terrible idea otherwise.
PrimaryHighlight5617@reddit
Yup!
It's a hard sell though for the folks living on SSI and disability. Their bills go up every year but their income stays the same.
"What would you do if something happened to your home. Can you afford to rebuild"
"If my house burns down I better be inside it."
Well damn.
Educational-Big-6609@reddit
Well, there are lots of YouTube video about this for Florida. It’s just part of life.
LetsGoGators23@reddit
Depends on how foreseeable it was. If it was foreseeable, you probably don’t have homeowners insurance (or a mortgage, which requires insurance) and knew what you were facing. If it was unforseeable you are likely insured. Then comes the “was it a natural disaster/flood/named storm” details in your individual policy and what caused it to fall.
NinjaCatWV@reddit
Getting homeowners insurance in Florida is actually a huge problem! A lot of insurance companies in Florida are not accepting new customers because the business is not as lucrative due to hurricanes
crownjewel82@reddit
That's why we have Citizen's.
Mayor__Defacto@reddit
Citizen’s is trying to fob off customers too, because their reinsurance rates went through the roof.
catchingstones@reddit
On the Outer Banks of NC, the ones that fall in the ocean have been uninsurable for a long time. The owners are out of luck, but they’ve known it was coming.
stuck_behind_a_truck@reddit
They are “self-insured.”
AnonymousWordVomit@reddit
I'm assuming these are the ones OP is referring to, and not hurricane/disaster situations.
Katressl@reddit
Even hurricanes a lot of the time they're SOL. All those houses that were destroyed in Ian on Sanibel and Captiva were owned by rich people and insurers wouldn't cover them, even through the state pool. (Which, damn straight. You want that kind of luxury, taxpayers shouldn't have to foot the bill. I think it's because they're second homes.) My mom lived fairly inland in North Fort Myers, and her lawn was flooded with more than a foot of water.
Honestly, I think it's foolish to live at all near the coasts in Florida and pretty much anywhere in California. At least if you have the means to move. Like, WHY do people want to live in the path of unprecedented hurricanes and wildfires? I miss San Francisco and Berkeley sometimes, but I do not miss the sky high rent and being surrounded to the north, east, and south by fires filling the city with smoke that makes me wheeze. One year my doctor suggested I sleep in my office since, unlike my apartment, it was insulated and climate controlled. But I couldn't leave my cat.
My half blind mother was without power for eleven days after Ian. And thank goodness she and my dad had invested in a metal roof and hurricane windows. A pine branch came flying at her picture window at 165 mph, and it just bounced off and left some needles behind. She would've been critically injured or killed with regular windows.
AnonymousWordVomit@reddit
Not all of those homes were owned by the kind of wealthy people you're thinking of, but they sure are now. More than a fair amount of homes, condos, etc. were passed down through working class families since the 70s. Because of that, they've been uninsurable for the past 10-15 years, and Ian was the storm that kinda wiped the slate clean and pushed a lot of people out. I've lived in the Iona area since moving to FL and evacuated for Ian. My house ended up with 18in of water in side of it a woman across the street only survived by laying on her matress and floating with her face less than an inch from her ceiling until the water receeded.. I can't imagine the kind of callous it takes for able bodied, wealthy people to ignore mandatory evacuation orders... I also happen to work for one of those 3 letter companies that every Floridian knows and hates, and jfc, Ian recovery was the biggest fever dream of my life. A lot of people lose their minds when they actually have to deal with FEMA and all of the strings attached to receiving funds, but it's that way for a reason.
GrowlingAtTheWorld@reddit
Why was she near her picture window during a hurricane? Interior room or hallway is best.
Katressl@reddit
She was on her couch, which wasn't fully in line-of-sight for the picture window, but WAS under the small, shuttered windows. Honestly, I think she was counting on those hurricane windows.
Darryl_Lict@reddit
There are spots in California that are pretty safe. I'm a couple of blocks from the ocean but on cliffs made of rock. They erode at a decent rate, maybe inches a year, and we aren't allowed to build seawalls here. You can certainly see spots where the erosion is more significant, Ty Warner's house next to the Santa Barbara Biltmore is has had half the street fall into the ocean within the time I've lived here (I'm old) so it is now a bike path.
Active_Two_6741@reddit
The foolish man builds his house on the sand
zoppaTheDim@reddit
A lot of them are insured with the federal government.
We subsidize millionaires’ second homes that way.
dobbydisneyfan@reddit
Many of the houses are uninsurable. And people are cold and callous to any loses because they themselves are perfect and have never taken a risk or made a bad decision and lost everything.
PuzzleheadedLemon353@reddit
Nope...enjoy it while you have it.
Carlpanzram1916@reddit
It depends on your insurance policy. People have broad policies that cover most disasters but sometimes in an area where there’s a specific risk, like tornados or wildfires, you have to pay more to cover that item because it’s such a big risk.
So if you have a policy that covers it, you’re covered. If you don’t, you’re in trouble.
Insurance companies have experts that analyze how likely stuff like this is to happen. In some cases, they won’t offer certain coverage for certain homes because it’s so high risk. Parts of Florida are basically down to one remaining insurance company
Donutordonot@reddit
They get wet.
Most aren’t insured as no company will write policies for homes in the area. Required people to pay cash in full for them knowing the risk.
Artistic-Fish1125@reddit
I used to live in a Victorian house located right on the beach on the East Coast. I had home insurance, but it didn't cover rebuilding my home if it ever crumbled into the sea. That was an extra fee that I didn't want to pay.
cdb03b@reddit
They have to get specialty insurance, and it is not always guaranteed that they will be able to get it if the risk is too high. But if they have the proper insurance they will be made whole.
G00dSh0tJans0n@reddit
I grew up in North Carolina, you may be thinking of Rodanthe on the Outer Banks where this has been happening. This is some good info. https://www.ncrabbithole.com/p/why-are-so-many-outer-banks-houses-collapsing
bogo61651@reddit
Here’s another good article about NC and how folks have been trying to get the laws changed to pay for insurance to tear down the houses instead of the houses having to collapse before insurance pays out: https://ncnewsline.com/2026/02/03/nc-insurance-chief-seeks-help-for-outer-banks-as-historic-storm-topples-four-more-homes/
Different_Cherry8326@reddit
Some of these houses can be had for very cheap now, because everyone knows they’ll be gone in a few years.
They’re probably uninsurable, at least for that kind of thing. I think insurance typically does not cover losses which are expected. you could probably still get some sort of insurance for things like slip and fall accidents. Just not for the structure.
visitor987@reddit
It depends why they fall in Earth movement is rarely covered by regular homeowners insurance. Flood damage is only covered by flood insurance.
anonymousambassasor@reddit
Our beach house is on Oak Island, NC. During Floyd 26 houses literally vanished into the sea. Our house is a bit back from the ocean and my mom went thru hell, after they built it to get it insured. Those houses that “vanished” into the sea were not insured.
Folksma@reddit
Not sure about the ocean, but in Michigan the state sends you bill when your house (the you built on a sand dune) falls in the lake
ALauCat@reddit
I lived in central Michigan for awhile and the soil was sandy enough that I’d call the whole state a sand dune.
LetterheadClassic306@reddit
standard homeowners insurance doesnt cover erosion or gradual land movement. some have separate windstorm or flood policies but those wont pay when the land disappears. if its declared a federal disaster area they might get buyout help but thats rare. most eat the loss or sell well before the cliff edge gets too close. wealthy owners usually just write it off.
Ok_Orchid1004@reddit
Insurance cannot be purchased through normal channels for many of those properties, you end up using a State backed insurer. In Florida that’s Citizens Property Insurance. They are the “insurer of last resort”. The big name insurers pretty much won’t underwrite homeowners insurance in those hurricane prone areas.
Dangerous_Prize_4545@reddit
Most of them are either uninsurable or the insurance is so astronomical with so many caveats it makes no sense. And they can't sell them. So it's basically party like its 1999 and once the inevitable happens, at least a good time was had by all.
ATLien_3000@reddit
It depends.
The general rule is that if it's erosion (gradual) it's not going to be covered.
If it's sudden (storm comes through and wipes out 500 feet of beach and the first row of houses) it'll be covered.
malibuklw@reddit
Most of those houses can’t be insured because of the risk.
Adorable_Dust3799@reddit
We have more cliffs than flat beaches, and when the edge of the cliff gets within a certain distance of the house insurance gets pulled.
seatownquilt-N-plant@reddit
There is a beach town in Oregon that has been washing away into the ocean. I saw a local news story of a house that was soon to fall into the ocean and it was difficult to sale and insurance would not issue a policy for it. A writer bought it for extremely cheap to live and write there until it would be condemned. I think he had about 1.5 - 2 years before he would have to leave.
breebop83@reddit
It’s really going to depend on the insurance they had. Standard home owners insurance won’t cover something like that (as others have said) and there comes a point (I believe) when a home can be denied for that specific insurance.
I had a family member back out of a home they had an offer in on after the inspection came back that the flood insurance would either be crazy high or unattainable (this was over a decade ago so I don’t remember which it was). This was for a house on a river in an area where drought is pretty common for some reference.
Dave_A480@reddit
It depends on if they have insurance for earth movement.
It's one of those things, like floods, that ordinary insurance doesn't cover.
Sad_Construction_668@reddit
a lot of the “house perched on the dune” beach houses are effectively uninsurable at this point. that means that sales/ purchases are cash, by people who want to be there now, but dont need it to be a long term investment.
OhThrowed@reddit
Insurance will probably cover the cost of the house. That insurance was also probably pretty expensive.
Ass_burgers_yum@reddit
Not usually. Once the coast line encroaches too close to the structure the insurance company will no longer cover the structure. There’s clauses written in to the policies that state this.
OhThrowed@reddit
I'll defer to your knowledge, as you can guess, there aren't that many coast lines in Utah. :)
Ass_burgers_yum@reddit
I learned this in real estate school and sell in a non-coastal area. Beach front and riparian rights for some reason just fascinate me lol.
DeiaMatias@reddit
I have never dealt with this situation with a personal home, but I am currently dealing with a total loss of a buisness. I have NO IDEA if the same rules apply.
(These numbers are not the actual numbers. I'm making them laughably small).
Our insurance covered us for $100 for a total loss. Under normal rules of inflation, $100 would have MORE than covered a total loss. And we had a total loss.
Right after the total loss, we got an estimate together and came out $5 over for a full rebuild. So we were looking at $105. No big deal. Sucks, but we had enough cash on hand to cover the difference. Then inflation SKYROCKETED, and now we're looking at $115. And that number will keep going up with inflation. And now we're having to both cut corners AND take out a loan.
So, for a buisness at least, there is a max amount they will pay out. After that, you're screwed. Again, don't know if homes work the same way.
In alot of places with frequent weather events, home owners insurance is prohibitively expensive. There is actually a decent chance that alot of those homes weren't insured, or were not insured for nearly what they were worth.
DOMSdeluise@reddit
homeowners insurance has a max too. Obviously you can control what that max is,but the higher it is the more expensive it is.
expomac@reddit
You're fucked. Most insurance policies that most people take out wont cover it
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vashtachordata@reddit
No one I know insures their beach homes. It’s too expensive.
I only know one beach house owner. So not a good sample group.
No-Boat-1536@reddit
Many houses have become uninsurable.
PowerfulFunny5@reddit
A mortgage lender would require insurance.
I’ve seen mentions of some that own their home outright may choose to “self insure” especially if the cost of insurance over 5-10 years is the same cost of building a new home.
Cheap_Coffee@reddit
Does insurance cover the cost of cleaning the wreckage off the beach or out of the water?
PrimaryHighlight5617@reddit
Clean up of debris is an extra coverage that you can request but it is not automatically included.
WhatABeautifulMess@reddit
Not sure about private residences but Casino Pier (I’d assume with assistance from their insurance) hired the company that got the JetStar roller coaster out of the Atlantic after Sandy.
Word2DWise@reddit
I'm pretty sure the insurance would cover the cost of the house but not the land, which at that point would be unusable. Either way they are fucked based on the assumption that in those type of properties, the land is worth way more than the house itself.
tibearius1123@reddit
They are built with pontoons on the bottom. They become boat houses.
sinoforever@reddit
Insurance will cover. But they are not stupid, it’s all baked into the price.