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This past summer, Teresa Secrest left Orange County, Calif., to move into a small beach cottage in Mexico Beach, Fla., that she had inherited from her father. Like many Americans, she

considered life on the beach a retirement paradise; even better, the home’s mortgage was paid off, so living would be cheap. Secrest, a 58-year-old cancer survivor, tidied up the yard, did

some repairs and went to sleep listening to the waves crash on the sugar-white sand 300 feet from her door. Then in October, Hurricane Michael arrived. Secrest evacuated to a place of

safety. Days later, she returned to discover the worst: Her home was gone, reduced to a pile of rubble that was still wet from the storm surge. “My only plan right now is, how do I clean up

my property?” Secrest said after viewing the wreckage. “That’s step one. Step two is ... I don’t really know step two.” Secrest doesn’t think she will be able to rebuild. She did not have an

insurance policy through the federal National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which provides coverage to more than 5 million homeowners, condo associations and businesses. A damaged bedroom

in Parker, Fla., in October 2018 after Hurricane Michael. Emily Kask/The New York Times/Redux The NFIP, which covers up to $250,000 for the building itself and $100,000 in personal property

for single-family dwellings, has been a lifesaver for many in coastal communities devastated by floodwaters. But older Americans may be less likely to be covered through the program,

according to experts. That’s because they are more likely than younger people to have paid off their mortgage, releasing them from any obligation to buy the coverage. And devastating storms

often strike just where older residents have clustered. Flood insurance is required for homeowners in areas the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has determined are at the highest

risk for flooding — but only for those with a federally backed mortgage. Otherwise flood insurance is not necessarily required. Mexico Beach, like many other Florida coastal communities, has

long been a destination for retirees. Its median age is 58, much higher than the national median age of 37.7, according to census data. Experts believe those older residents were hit hard

by Hurricane Michael. FOR FINANCIAL NEWS, WAYS TO SAVE AND MORE, GET AARP’S MONTHLY MONEY NEWSLETTER.