Residents of a popular resort area off the coast of Maryland are struggling for solutions since insurance carriers have either canceled or outright refused to continue coverage on decades-old manufactured homes in the region.
What's happening?
According to the OC Today-Dispatch, homeowners throughout Ocean City have been unable to protect their assets for over a year after insurance companies suddenly dropped policies "following significant losses in the South."
Realtor Mike Grimes told the outlet that manufactured homes with disrupted coverage account for over half the 1,523 properties in the city's Montego Bay community.
"There's no insurance carriers at the moment that will hand out homeowners insurance policies for single-wide, double-wide or buildovers," he said. "... So, because of this current situation, anybody buying those types of homes have to buy in cash because lenders require a homeowners insurance policy."
It's exactly the predicament Jaime Strickland finds herself in. She and her husband had a deal to sell their manufactured vacation home, but the buyer couldn't secure homeowners insurance. Now, she's left waiting for someone to offer cash and self-insure.
She isn't alone, as Grimes has seen several manufactured homes in Montego Bay resurface on the market after going under contract because of the lack of insurance coverage offered. It's an issue that extends to most manufactured homes in surrounding areas at least two decades old, per Avery Hall Insurance Agency's Tom Bole.
"I've lost four sales back there this year because of this insurance thing," fellow realtor Scott Holdren added. "It sucks."
Strickland has contacted the state and at least 20 insurance agencies nationwide seeking answers, to no avail.
"Everybody I've called said, 'Sorry, can't help you,'" she said. "It's very frustrating. No one is helping us."
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Why are the dropped insurance policies concerning?
As rising temperatures increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, more and more homeowners have shared experiences similar to what is happening in Ocean City.
Residents in states vulnerable to wildfire, including California, Colorado, and New Mexico, have seen insurance premiums either skyrocket or get pulled altogether. The same goes for states where flooding and hurricanes are prevalent, like Louisiana and Florida.
And with the planet exhibiting record-breaking temperatures and natural disasters of historic proportions, insurance companies will continue to raise rates or cancel policies, leaving families with the impossible choice of moving or paying unmanageable prices.
What can I do to curb dropped or skyrocketing insurance policies?
The best place to start is speaking up about the issue with your concerns, especially to your local representatives in government. Following along with that, researching the issues candidates support at every level in an election may lead to voting for a candidate who has more publicly committed to fighting this issue — or the wider issue of climate change that has led to this problem.
Like most climate-related issues we face today, everything starts with limiting our reliance on dirty energy sources that cause the planet to overheat and instead investing in cleaner technology. While it may take some time and additional support from more companies to offset the heat-trapping pollution in our atmosphere, some encouraging efforts have already been underway for many years.
For example, one company has created adaptable solar panels for parking lots, and researchers are developing sustainable forms of cement for infrastructure.
Meanwhile, initiatives like the Inflation Reduction Act have made it easier for individuals to make eco-friendly home upgrades, and making simple lifestyle changes like taking public transportation or thrifting for your next outfit further reduces the pollution we produce.
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