Staying protected: Local homeowners navigate flood insurance options

Despite living in high-risk flood zones, less than 25% of homeowners in Harris County carry flood insurance, leaving many exposed to costly damage. In cities such as Bellaire and West University Place, officials are working to close that gap by investing in flood mitigation projects and participating in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Community Rating System, which lowers insurance premiums for residents.

Digging deeper

In the five ZIP codes covering Bellaire, Meyerland and West University Place, FEMA found all areas are at a relatively high risk for hurricane and riverine, or inland, flooding. However, a June housing report by Rice University’s Kinder Institute found that despite the higher risk, less than 25% of residential structures in Harris County have flood insurance, which is a separate policy not covered under homeowners insurance.

FEMA fully integrated a new system in 2023 called Risk Rating 2.0. The new pricing method no longer uses individual flood zones to determine a home’s flood risk, but instead switched to multiple data points to calculate risk based on individual properties, according to the FEMA website. The new method considers factors such as:

• Distance to flood sources
• Building construction
• First floor height
• Prior claims

The new change has led to some properties in neighborhoods like Bellaire and West U seeing either higher or lower flood risks and associated insurance costs. FEMA’s prior flood risk method calculated insurance premiums by placing residential homes into specific flood zones using the agency’s flood maps.

The new system, called the National Risk Index, now determines flood risk, which measures expected annual loss due to natural hazards, social vulnerability and community resilience. The index rates homes from low risk to a high risk through a numbered system 0-100.

• Low risk (0-40): A low, but meaningful flood risk
• Moderate risk (40-60): Flooding risk is either reduced with mitigation efforts, or communities experience shallow flooding
• High risk (60-100): Properties are mandated to to have flood insurance if mortgages are backed by the federal government

According to FEMA’s National Risk Index, all five ZIP codes in Bellaire, Meyerland and West University are in the high risk zone for both riverine flooding risk, which occurs when rivers, streams or other waterways such as bayous overflow their banks into surrounding areas; and hurricane flooding, which encompasses storm surge, wind-driven water, heavy rainfall and inland flooding.

Put in perspective

Jeremy Porter, who heads climate research for the nonprofit First Street Foundation, which leverages scientific models and methods to communicate flood risks throughout the country, said many homeowners are going without flood insurance due to higher costs or lack of knowledge.

“FEMA doesn’t map heavy precipitation, and heavy precipitation risk is one of the driving causes of flooding that we’ve seen across the country,” Porter said. “We’re seeing that when people get mortgages, they’re not being told by their banks that they need to have flood insurance.”

Dick Yehle, a former West U City Council member, has flood insurance and has lived in two different homes during his 35-year tenure as a resident, including his current home, which he said is not far from Poor Farm Ditch. He said his flood insurance rate has slightly decreased over the years, although he believes the rates are at the “mercy of FEMA and the floodplains.”

The Kinder Institute report also found that two-thirds of Harris County residents had difficulty paying for housing in the past 12 months. More than 50% cited insurance costs as one factor.

Zack Liu, a finance professor at the University of Houston’s C.T. Bauer College of Business, said both home and flood insurance premiums have gone up in recent years.

“Flood insurance premiums have gone up to reflect, essentially, better information that they have about our houses,” Liu said.

Explained

Texas Department of Insurance data shows that home insurance policies in Harris County, as of 2023, averaged $3,325, a 43% increase since 2015. Housing experts also estimated that premiums rose in 2023 by 75% to $1,336 per year.

Despite the higher costs, city officials from both Bellaire and West U encourage residents to purchase flood insurance and take advantage of FEMA’s Community Rating System, a voluntary incentive program both cities participate in that allows homeowners to receive a 15% reduction in flood insurance premiums based on their class.

FEMA determines a community class on a scale of 1 to 10 based on a points system awarded for regulations that exceed minimum National Flood Insurance Program requirements and documented floodplain management activities.

“We have a rating of 7 and thus a 15% flood insurance discount,” said Travis Tanner, Bellaire’s director of development services. “This comes from enforcing regulations. Having and enforcing our higher standards in Bellaire gets us points, reducing the residents’ flood insurance costs.”

The context

West U and Bellaire have recently invested in flood mitigation projects to reduce the chance of flooding that might cause higher flood insurance rates, including the Cypress Ditch project in Bellaire and the Poor Farm Ditch project in West U.

“Drainage and disasters are things that don’t stop at the city limits,” Tanner said. “They affect everybody and everything. But we’re doing everything we can within our city limits and then some to try to mitigate that. It’s a big priority in Bellaire.”

Construction on the Cypress Ditch improvement project is anticipated to begin in the fall and last for two years, according to project documents. The $110 million project will increase channel capacity and construct new surface detention in Bellaire.

Meanwhile, Poor Farm Ditch in the Brays Bayou watershed is being rehabilitated by the Harris County Flood Control District to address the integrity of its concrete channel lining. As of a June 9 city announcement, HCFCD and its contractors continued maintenance improvements between University Boulevard and Bissonnet Street. The $31.1 million project is currently in the design phase and will increase stormwater capacity to keep flood waters at bay in West U.

Going forward

FEMA recently postponed the release of new flood maps from spring 2025 to early 2026. However, homeowners can still use free online tools at www.floodsmart.gov to find flood insurance, to see if they qualify for a policy price reduction and to find their area risk levels.