The National Flood Insurance Program has paid out about $1.25 billion in claims from Hurricane Ian, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday.
The total was up from $882 million on Dec. 1. About 45,200 claims have been filed with the program from the Category 4 storm, which made landfall Sept. 28 in Southwest Florida and crossed the state.
Residents who have mortgages on properties in designated flood zones are required to have flood insurance, which is mostly purchased through the federal program.
But most Floridians don’t have flood insurance, exacerbating problems from Ian. Residential property-insurance policies cover wind damage, but not flood damage.
Florida lawmakers this week are considering a proposal that would phase in a requirement for customers of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to buy flood insurance.
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