HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A private flood insurer has stepped into Connecticut’s market, the first time homeowners along the shoreline battered by Superstorm Sandy have an alternative to increasingly costly federal insurance.

The Flood Insurance Agency of Gainesville, Fla., is writing flood insurance policies in Connecticut, CEO Evan Hecht said. The market was specifically established in response to federal legislation that eliminated subsidies on federal flood insurance in 2012 to bring insurance rates more in line with the real risk of flooding.