Staying protected From the cover
Digging deeper
FEMA flood risk ratings Over 80% of Bellaire and West University properties are at risk of flooding over the next 30 years. 290 45 Moderate risk: 40 to 60 High risk: 60 to 100
Low risk: 0 to 40 A low, but meaningful flood risk
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.
10 Flooding risk is either reduced with mitigation efforts, or communities experience shallow flooding
Properties are mandated to have flood insurance if mortgages are backed by the federal government
National Risk Index FEMA uses the National Risk Index to determine flood risk, which measures expected annual loss due to natural hazards, social vulnerability and community resilience. Occurs when rivers, streams or other waterways such as bayous overflow their banks into surrounding areas Riverine flooding risk Hurricane flooding risk Encompasses storm surge, wind-driven water, heavy rainfall and inland flooding
77005 99.3 93.4
610
45
77401 99.8 90.1
59
69
77030 99.8 99.2
610
77025 99 86.7
77096 99.9 93.8
90
288
SOURCES: FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, FIRST STREET/COMMUNITY IMPACT
N
Harris County nonrenewal home insurance rates Throughout the Greater Houston area, more homeowners have chosen to opt out of renewing their home insurance policies year over year since 2021. 0% 0.5% 1% 1.5%
Put in perspective
Explained
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
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 premi- ums 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.”
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
0.99%
0.65%
0.55%
0.88% 0.91%
1.05%
SOURCE: U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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.
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