Carrie Thomas, Account Director: Datos Insights: Should I stay or should I go now? A personal perspective of flood risk in Florida (405)

Carrie Thomas, Account Director: Datos Insights: Should I stay or should I go now? A personal perspective of flood risk in Florida (405)

From InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens by InsTech

May 3, 2026 · 24 min · Episode 405

About this episode

Carrie Thomas shares her personal experience with flood risk and the challenges of securing insurance in Florida.

In this episode, Matthew Grant is joined by Carrie Thomas, Account Director at Datos Insights, for a deeply personal look at what happens when insurance risk becomes a lived reality. Having spent years working closely with insurers, Carrie brings a rare dual perspective, both as an industry insider and as a homeowner navigating one of the most challenging insurance markets in the world. After relocating from the Carolinas to Florida, she found herself caught in a system where cover is not only harder to access, but increasingly difficult to justify. The conversation centres on her experience trying to secure homeowners and flood insurance in a state where carriers are withdrawing, pricing is volatile and eligibility rules create unexpected gaps. Despite not being in a designated flood zone, Carrie faced rising premiums, limited options and ultimately the decision to go without flood cover altogether. Set against the backdrop of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, she shares what it is like to experience storm risk first-hand, from uncertainty around evacuation to the aftermath of storm surge and its impact on communities. At the heart of the episode is a difficult but important…

People in this episode

Host: Matthew Grant

Guest: Carrie Thomas

Topics covered

  • flood risk
  • insurance market
  • homeowners insurance
  • Hurricanes
  • personal experience
  • insurance eligibility

Keywords

  • flood insurance
  • insurance market
  • homeowners
  • Hurricanes
  • risk management
  • insurance eligibility
  • premium costs

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Datos Insights

Places: Florida, Carolinas

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