WHEN new residents settle in the Outer Banks islands, flood insurance is usually the farthest thing from their minds. They come here to clear their heads of such worries in the cobalt blue waters of the North Carolina coast. Drawn to the beaches, many Outer Banks homeowners, like the ones here in Kitty Hawk, purchase oceanfront property. When they experience their first of the islands' frequent hurricanes, however, these landlubbers discover that the Atlantic, calm and inviting to visitors, can be a source of despair to coastal dwellers without flood insurance.

I've sold flood insurance with Gateway Insurance for 16 years, but my agency's presence in coastal North Carolina goes back much further. The Wright Brothers might have consulted the flood insurance experts of Dowd and Twiddy, as Gateway was known during the years Wilbur and Orville conducted the first airplane flights in Kitty Hawk. Then a sandy wilderness ideal for turn-of-the century inventors looking for seclusion, the town is today a tourist Mecca of bustling boardwalks and seaside chateaus. Many of our clients are seasonal residents whose coverage for their high-end vacation homes constitutes the bulk of our flood insurance business.

Like the Outer Banks, Gateway has grown to meet the needs of northeastern North Carolina's developing communities. We have nine locations along the state's seaboard. In my office, 75% of our approximately 3,000 accounts is personal-lines business. Flood insurance is one of our agency's best sellers. Two producers and I in the Kitty Hawk office sell the product. Ten more agents do the same for our sister sites.