Texas tops another national list, but this is an expensive one. A new study from the website Move.org ranks the Lone Star State number one in the country for money spent on property damage due to natural disasters over the last decade. Since 2008, Texas has spent more than $53 billion on property damage, with the vast majority of that--about 96%--due to hurricanes or flash flooding.
Mark Hanna with the Insurance Council of Texas is not surprised by the results of the study. "Whether we have a significant number of tornadoes, hailstorms, hurricanes, wildfires, or what have you, we seem to always lead the list," he tells KTRH.
And of course, that higher risk leads to more expensive insurance rates. "We've always had some of the highest homeowners’ rates in the country---if we haven't been number one, we've been number two or number three---but they've always been high, just simply because we have so much violent weather," says Hanna.
For that reason, Texans need more than just a homeowner's insurance policy. A report earlier this year found the vast majority of Texas homeowners are still without flood insurance, even after Harvey. "Having lived through Harvey, everyone needs a flood insurance policy," he says. "You don't have to live in a floodplain, as we found out the hard way, to be flooded...when you've got 50 to 60 inches of rainfall, just about everything floods," says Hanna.
And for those who live along the coastline, Hanna recommends a third policy---windstorm insurance. It's all part of the territory of living in Texas. "Talk to any meteorologist, and they will tell you that Texas has the most violent weather of any state in the country," says Hanna. "Texas has got it all."