As hurricane season heats up in the Atlantic, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners says too many Houstonians are still rolling the dice without flood insurance.
The Texas Gulf Coast has some of the lowest percentage of homes covered by flood insurance, though Harvey was a motivator.
“The number of flood insurance policies have increased 18 percent after Harvey, and we tend to see that after these disasters,” says Aaron Brandenburg, NAIC Assistant Director of Statistical Information.
“There are some limited grants out there, there are some loans available through FEMA, but you're not going to be made whole if you have a $100,000 or $200,000 loss, a flood policy is what is going to protect you from that.”
Mark Hanna at the Insurance Council of Texas says most Houstonians would pay as little as $450 a year for flood insurance.
“You could be getting a check for as much as $350,000 versus someone who had no insurance, they might get a $4,000 check simply coming from FEMA,” he says.
Policies vary on location and past history of flooding.
“If you're right on the beach, you'll need a basic fire policy which would be your homeowner insurance policy. You need a separate wind storm policy, and you would also want a flood insurance policy,” says Hanna.
Another thing to remember, flood insurance won't kick in until 30 days after you buy it.