Insurance companies probably won't be hit as hard as people think they will be. How many people in that area had flood insurance? Very few Americans have flood insurance, and they're generally concentrated in areas where there's storm surge, i.e. the coasts.
Unfortunately, a number of flooded properties were located outside the FEMA designated flood zones - even the 100 year+ zones. And they were located higher than the flood lines by something around 10-12 feet (in Ashville, NC).
I really hope a lot of changes are made coming out of this disaster.
