Fort Pierce - Friday September 1, 2023: This week on In Focus, with IRSC Public Media, the impact of Hurricane Idalia on the home insurance market, and on manatees.
With Florida getting slammed again by another hurricane, homeowners are bracing to get hit again by another increase in their home insurance premiums. But Caroline Melear, of R Street Finance says, not so fast.
Caroline is a fellow on R Street’s Insurance team. She's a Florida resident and an expert on the home insurance market here. She points out that Hurricane Idalia has not done as much damage as Ian did last year, and the Legislature has finally stepped up and passed new laws that have improved the home insurance market.
Learn more about the R Street Finance Insurance team on their website at: rstreet.org
Then we'll hear from Cora Berchem, the Director of Multimedia and a Manatee Research Associate at Save the Manatee Club.
Idalia 's storm surge may have caused some manatees to travel farther upstream away from their coastal habitats to inland areas they don't normally inhabit. In the storm's aftermath, wildlife officials and organizations Like Save the Manatee are concerned that some manatees may become trapped as the water recedes. Cora tells us that behavior is not unusual for manatees and she'll let us know what you should do if you see a stranded manatee.
Learn more about the Save the Manatee Club on their website website at: savethemanatee.org