Navigating ood protection From the cover
The big picture
there was a “signicant expansion in the maps” driven by a 30% increase in rainfall rates. “Our stance has always been and will always be that everyone in Harris County should have ood insurance no matter where you live,” she said. As for cost, Houston-area insurance agent Jose Medrano said every property is unique, and the map alone no longer determines premiums. In 2023, FEMA implemented a new pricing system called Risk Rating 2.0 that uses factors such as home elevation, distance to ood sources and construction history to calculate quotes.
A before-and-after glimpse of the preliminary maps indicates more Cypress homes fall within a high-risk ood zone, potentially impacting ood insurance requirements for certain residents. The February draft reects nearly two decades of change, as FEMA last released ood maps in 2007 using data from Tropical Storm Allison, per the agency’s website. Emily Woodell, HCFCD chief external aairs ocer, said new insurance requirements won’t take eect until the map is nalized in two to three years. She said HCFCD doesn’t know the exact number of homes now in a oodplain, but
It’s been more than two months since the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Harris County Flood Control District released the long-awaited draft maps highlighting updated ood risks across the region. While the data is a work in progress, local homeowners are wondering how the changes will impact their bills. FEMA requires all property owners with a federally-backed mortgage living in a 100-year oodplain—areas with a 1% annual chance of ooding—to obtain ood insurance through private insurers or the National Flood Insurance Program, known as NFIP.
NFIP policyholder premium changes, 2025 Monthly premiums shifted across Cy-Fair in the past year based on a matrix used by the NFIP called Risk Rating 2.0.
ZIP codes
Policy count
$20+ decrease
$10-$20 decrease
$0-$10 decrease
$0-$10 increase
$10-$20 increase
$20+ increase
99 TOLL
77040 3,903 77064 2,710 77065 2,278 77070 3,985 77095 5,449 77429 9,884 77433 7,539
12.7% 1.8%
3.3%
74.6% 6.6% 1.1%
290
77070
77429
1960
2.6% 0.6% 0.8% 93.9% 2%
0.1% 0.1%
3.1% 1.8%
0.1%
0.2% 96.4% 0%
77064
0.3% 0.5% 96.3% 0.9% 0.2%
77433
1.1%
0.1%
4.3% 94.4% 0%
0%
249
529
77040
2%
0.2% 2.2%
94.8% 0.7% 0.1%
77095
77065
0.2% 0.1%
4.2% 95.5% 0%
0.1%
N
NOTE: DATA REFERS TO POLICIES FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES. ONE HOUSING UNIT MAY CARRY MORE THAN ONE POLICY, AS COVERAGE FOR THE BUILDING AND PERSONAL BELONGINGS ARE PACKAGED SEPARATELY. SOURCE: NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM¢COMMUNITY IMPACT
Occupied housing units vs. NFIP ood insurance policies in Harris County
Another detail
The cost
20.4%
Medrano said standard homeowners insurance does not cover ood-related damages. “Flood insurance, what that covers is damage to your property if water comes from the ground up,” he said. “Regular home insurance is if the water comes in from the sky down.” Residents can obtain ood insurance directly through FEMA or through its Write Your Own Program, which is a list of private companies that issue standardized policies regulated by the NFIP. NFIP claims led, paid in unincorporated Harris County Write your own: Private insurers issue the policy, but NFIP pays the claim Direct
For those weighing the cost of ood insurance, a ordability concerns may tip the scale away from the additional coverage. Annual ood insurance costs vary greatly for Harris County residents—anywhere from $500 to more than $1,000—according to FEMA data. However, some community members believe the extra protection is always worth the cost. Cy-Fair resident Jim Robertson said his annual costs have increased by about $850 since he rst purchased insurance in 2001 after Allison. He said even though he lives outside the 500-year oodplain and his Lakewood Forest home has never ooded, he will continue to renew his policy. “I talked to people that had been in Lakewood Forest that said, ‘I had ood insurance forever and never ooded, so I dropped my insurance and got ooded,’” Robertson said. Medrano said residents living outside the
1.175M Total occupied housing units
240,031 Total NFIP policy count in Harris County
20.42 Estimated flood insurance policies for every 100 occupied units
NOTE: ONE HOUSING UNIT MAY CARRY MORE THAN ONE POLICY, AS COVERAGE FOR THE BUILDING AND PERSONAL BELONGINGS ARE PACKAGED SEPARATELY. SOURCE: NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM AND U.S. CENSUS BUREAU COMMUNITY IMPACT
Number of claims
37,093
12,716
Total: 49,809
100-year oodplain may be eligible to purchase an NFIP policy at a lower rate. The NFIP also o ers discounts for properties that are now in a high-risk zone based on updated mapping.
Net dollars paid
$2.08B
$477.34M
Total: $2.56B
SOURCE: NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAMCOMMUNITY IMPACT DATA COLLECTED THROUGH DEC. 31
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