FEMA Urges Texans Under Harvey Group Coverage to Purchase Flood Policies
As part of the federal disaster assistance afforded to Texas residents after Hurricane Harvey hit the coast in 2017, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided Group Flood Insurance Policies (GFIP) to 6,704 households in counties impacted by the hurricane. In response to the upcoming expiration of these policies, which are valid for a three-year period ending on October 24, 2020, FEMA has published a statement urging these homeowners to purchase standard flood insurance policies to ensure continuous coverage.
FEMA notes that those who received a GFIP after Harvey and do not purchase standard flood insurance will likely not receive federal disaster assistance for home repairs in the event of future flood events.
After Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in 2017, homeowners without flood insurance received an average of $6,000 in federal aid from FEMA, while those with flood insurance received around $114,000, according to David Maurstad, deputy associate administrator for FEMA’s Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration and chief executive of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Maurstad says that 98 percent of the counties in the US have experienced a flooding event, though many people do not have flood insurance.
“It’s a continual challenge to us to make sure that people really understand their flood risk,” said Maurstad. “That where it can rain, it can flood. And they shouldn’t focus just on a line on a map, but really determine what their flood risk is.”
According to FEMA, the number of NFIP policies in effect has increased over the last few years, with 5.18 million policies in effect in 2018 compared to 5.13 million in 2017 and 5.08 million in 2016. However, these totals have dropped since the program’s highest point in 2009 at 5.70 million policies.
People may assume that their homeowner’s insurance will provide protection in the event of flooding, but most of these policies don’t cover flood damage. Further, it’s not guaranteed that federal assistance will be available after a disaster, as damages must be great enough to trigger a presidential declaration.
Flood insurance can be purchased through the NFIP, but alternatives are also available in the surplus lines market. In 2019, the Texas legislature passed a bill to exempt those procuring flood insurance in the surplus lines market from conducting a diligent effort search, which is a requirement for all other coverage types. On the federal level, several members of Congress have also introduced bills designed to reform the NFIP or conduct studies in areas of repeated flooding. Overall, focus on flooding in the US has increased in recent years, and the importance of flood insurance has been demonstrated.