Bob Hall Pier: Insuring new pier could be 'extremely difficult,' consultant says
The Nueces County Commissioners Court is exploring options to insure a proposed restaurant on the new Bob Hall Pier after a consultant said it would be "extremely difficult" to insure the structure because of its coastal location.
During the commissioners' Wednesday meeting, Chase Carlisle, vice president of Carlisle Insurance, discussed the current design plans for the pier, including a second building built next to the existing structure. Both buildings will be located beyond the mean tide line, making it difficult to secure insurance, according to Carlisle.
The Bob Hall Pier was destroyed by Hurricane Hanna in July 2020. The new pier is partly funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, and guidelines for the funding state the pier must be complete and operational by the end of 2026.
Though the pier was not insured during Hurricane Hanna, its concession stand was. A future policy could feature broader coverage, including the pier itself.
The discussion comes after the county approved a 30% design for the $27.3 million project, including a single-story restaurant and an adjacent concession area. Carlisle advised the commissioners that the buildings may not be insurable due to their location on the pier.
“The availability of insurance markets for coastal property risks has reduced over the past 3-5 years, making it difficult to insure properties on a barrier island,” Carlisle wrote in a letter to Precinct 4 Commissioner Brent Chesney. “As you are aware, insuring Bob Hall Pier has been discussed numerous times over the past number of years. The feasibility of insuring the pier has always been difficult due to the premium costs and the limited coverage that generally would exclude storm surge. Surge is the primary risk to the integrity of the structure in our opinion.”
Carlisle said the risk associated with structures sitting over water along the Gulf of Mexico is "incredibly high" for windstorm and storm surge damage. According to Carlisle, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association won’t insure the structure without flood insurance, and the National Flood Insurance Program won’t insure the structure due to the location and construction.
“If the County elects to proceed with the current design, we will continue to search for options to provide you with coverage,” Carlisle wrote. “However, I do not see an increase in availability in the current market and cannot predict the future of the market going forward.”
Carlisle suggested a parametric insurance policy written to trigger coverage based on predetermined parameters and payouts, such as speed of sustained wind.
“I think there’s some discussion to be had based on the design,” Carlisle said during Wednesday's meeting. "Maybe we can pick a plan to trigger at higher wind speeds rather than lower speeds because we feel confident in the design."
The county could use payouts from a parametric policy for beach cleanup efforts, emergency pay, repairing damage to other structures and more.
“This could end up saving us money,” Chesney said. “This could help us in all parts of the county, not just the coast. If there’s a hurricane that knocks down something at Hilltop (Community Center), as long as the wind speed triggers it, then this could help in addition to what we’ve got covered.”
The commissioners voted to table the discussion for a future meeting. Carlisle requested 30 days to gather information before returning the item to the court agenda.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Nueces County to consider insurance, design options for Bob Hall Pier
