They had Hurricane coverage, and for *some* reason thought that they were protected from a hurricane's damage, and even more farfetched, they believed that all that water was from a hurricane's storm surge. Imagine their surprise when their insurance companies informed them that they hadn't lost their property to a hurricane, but to a flood.
Many of these houses weren't on a "flood plain" and had never had flooding. I can see that many people paid their premiums believing that they were covered from the thing they were at risk of - a hurricane.
I'm not well versed in the national flood insurance program since I don't live in a flood plain, but it's my understanding that one can't just get national flood insurance by paying a premium, it's not even offered unless the whole community agrees to certain federal stipulations concerning exsisting and future building codes.
Is there a difference between a "flood" and a "storm surge"?
"Hello, God? See, Allstate won't honor my claim, so I'm going for the ultimate deep pockets. And since Mother Nature claims you are her boss...."