REAL ESTATE Homeowners insurance rates rise across Greater Houston area
GOVERNMENT County o cials, nonpro ts partner on $2.5M a ordable housing project
2023 HOME EDITION
Since 1980, adjusted for in ation, there has been an upward trend of billion-dollar disasters in the U.S., which raises insurance rates. So far in 2023, 100 people nationwide have died in 12 billion-dollar events, most of which were severe storms. RECENT EVENTS
“FORT BEND COUNTY PRIORITIZES PEOPLE. THEY PUT PEOPLE BEFORE POLITICS, AND THAT IS WHAT MAKES IT SO SPECIAL.” RON REYNOLDS, DISTRICT 27 STATE REPRESENTATIVE
NATIONWIDE DISASTERS THAT COST AT LEAST $1B EACH Droughts Floods
BY ASIA ARMOUR
BY JAKE MAGEE
“This day has been a long time coming, but it’s just the beginning of new programs,” Gro said. At a June 14 news conference, Gro stood alongside County Judge KP George, Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy, District 27 state Rep. Ron Reynolds, nonpro t leaders and other Fort Bend County o cials to discuss the details of this initiative. Zooming in Shannan Stavinoha, executive director of Parks Youth Ranch, a nonpro t that provides emergency shelter and counseling to abused and neglected youth, said the $2.5 million will be used to create a bridge-gap service center. The service center will connect residents at risk of losing their housing with employment assistance, tempo- rary housing, behavioral health care, medical care and other resources
Alabama or wild res in California, a ect rates in Houston, he said. Since 2020, there have been over 22 U.S. disasters that cost at least $1 billion in insurance claims, Moore said. One of those events was Winter Storm Uri, which hit Texas in February 2021. “That was a multiple-billion-dollar event that happened,” Moore said. Insurance companies raise rates nationally to make up these losses, Moore said. Also contributing to the Greater Houston area’s rising homeowners insurance rates is the area’s proximity to the Gulf Coast. Being close to the coast makes the area high-risk with a higher amount of claims, Moore said. A handful of insurers have entered the Greater Houston area market only to leave because its proximity to the coast makes it hard to be pro table, he said. “Companies are losing millions and
Severe storms
Tropical cyclones
Wild res
Winter storms
A recent exodus of insurance companies from the Greater Houston area combined with an upward trend in nationwide disasters has led home- owners insurance rates to increase. Cass Moore, owner of his own Goosehead Insurance agency in The Woodlands, said rates for homeowners insurance have increased by 22% on average this year. Mortgage lenders require homeowners to have home- owners insurance to cover repairs or reconstruction in the event of a disaster, such as a re or storm, that damages a home. “Nationally, rates are increasing at an unprecedented amount,” Moore said. And it’s not over yet. Rates are likely to climb again next year before hope- fully stabilizing in 2025, Moore said. Rising insurance rates locally are a re ection of wider trends. National disasters, such as tornadoes in
Aaron Gro , Fulshear mayor and vice president of Attack Poverty, anticipates the October opening of a $2.5 million service center to provide resources to Fort Bend County resi- dents experiencing housing insecurity. The overview These American Rescue Plan Act dollars were dedicated to the housing initiative at a June 13 Commissioners Court meeting in a unanimous vote. The resource center, which will be centrally located in Rosenberg along a bus route, is the rst phase of a collab- orative a ordable housing solution in the county, Gro said. This comes after a February proposal by a group of nonpro ts to utilize $53.45 million in unspent federal relief funds as seed money for a multiphased housing project to address the county’s homelessness.
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Local o cials and nonpro ts discussed an a ordable housing initiative at a June 14 press conference. (Asia Armour/Community Impact)
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needed to sustain housing. “The idea is to get in front of families who are unstable in hous- ing, [who] are that one paycheck away [from losing their housing],” Stavinoha said. Diving in deeper O cials agreed that this housing solution will address the root causes of homelessness and empower the community to go beyond
temporary housing and move toward long-term sustainability. Nonpro t Attack Poverty col- laborates with local organizations, churches and residents to create community programs. “This is not just a project that we were putting together for tomorrow,” Attack Poverty CEO Brandon Baca said. “This is a project that we’re putting together that will sustain the impact on these individuals.”
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SOURCE: NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL CENTERS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION COMMUNITY IMPACT
*AS OF JULY 11
millions of dollars,” Moore said. In ation and supply chain issues also play a role. Due to past shortages in lumber and other materials to rebuild houses, it costs more to insure them, Moore said.
Moore encouraged residents facing large increases in their homeowners insurance rates to shop around. Resi- dents are eligible for major discounts if they get a new roof or a home security system, Moore said.
MASON ROAD 1640 S Mason Rd (281) 395-6262
FALCON LANDING 9722 Gaston Rd (281) 574-3008 KATY MILLS 24417 Katy Fwy (281) 394-5780
KATY 23702 Westheimer Pkwy (281) 392-5554
FULSHEAR 24940 FM 1093 (281) 391-4008
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