MIAMI — As coastal residents nervously await the start of a new hurricane season in June, they're confronting another fright: the exorbitant price and short supply of insurance for wind damage.

Huge losses from Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 have sent the homeowners insurance industry into a panicked retreat from the United States' coastline. In Florida, which was hit by eight major hurricanes in two years, insurers are refusing to renew hundreds of thousands of homeowners policies to reduce exposure to claims.

Residents, many of whom are still patching up last year's hurricane damage, now face breathtaking insurance rate increases.

As rates go higher and coverage is terminated, homeowners with mortgages have no choice but to find coverage at whatever price. Lenders require it.

Several states along the East and Gulf coasts, including Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Massachusetts, offer state-run insurance programs for coastal homeowners who can't get private insurance. But public programs are no bargain; most offer bare-bones coverage at a high price.