HOUSTON – As hurricane season begins, Texas is losing flood insurance coverage faster than any other state in the nation, raising concerns among flood experts and researchers in a state with a long history of devastating floods.
Data from the National Flood Insurance Program shows more than 45,000 flood insurance policies were canceled across Texas over the past 12 months, a decline of roughly 7.2%, according to figures reviewed by KPRC 2. Nationwide, flood insurance policies also declined, but at a significantly lower rate.
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The trend comes despite repeated flood disasters across Texas in recent years and as many homeowners continue to face rising housing, insurance and living costs.
“We know it’s raining more. We know it’s raining more intensely and that rain is more unpredictable now than ever,” said Emily Woodell, chief external affairs officer for the Harris County Flood Control District. “That’s why flood insurance is more important now than perhaps ever before.”
A state built around flood risk
Flooding has long been one of Texas’ most persistent natural hazards.
Houston alone has experienced numerous major flood events, including Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, the Tax Day Flood of 2016 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The region’s extensive network of bayous was designed to move water away from homes and businesses, but flood officials say no system can eliminate flood risk entirely.
“If you live in the Houston area, you are at risk of flooding,” Woodell said.
She said flood control projects completed since Harvey have significantly reduced risk for many residents.
“If that were to happen today, hundreds of thousands of homes would be in a better position than they were then,” Woodell said, referring to Harvey. “However, that risk still exists.”
Woodell said periods without major flooding can lead some residents to become less focused on the threat.
“Unless you’ve been hit recently, you’re right. You become complacent and it becomes much more of a comfortable issue versus one that you think you need to take action on,” she said.
Still, she believes flood insurance remains essential for families across Harris County.
“Most homeowners would not have an insurance policy that doesn’t cover fire,” Woodell said. “But in Harris County, you’re at a much greater risk of flooding than you are for a fire destroying your home.”
Rising costs squeeze household budgets
Researchers say the decline in flood insurance coverage is likely tied more to affordability challenges than to residents forgetting about flood risk.
Daniel Potter, director of the Houston Population Research Center at Rice University’s Kinder Institute, said housing affordability has become one of the biggest financial pressures facing Texans.
“Across the board affordability challenges are going on,” Potter said. “People are going to look for ways to save money.”
Potter said Houston’s median home prices have risen dramatically over the past decade while wages have not kept pace.
He noted that home prices that once ranged between roughly $160,000 and $180,000 are now above $320,000 in many cases. At the same time, residents are dealing with higher rents, insurance premiums, grocery bills, utility costs and child care expenses.
“You’ve got to keep a roof over my head. I’ve got to get food on my table. I’ve got to get back and forth from work,” Potter said. “All of a sudden you start to have to go and look at things like flood insurance.”
Unlike homeowners insurance required by mortgage lenders in many cases, flood insurance is often optional for homeowners outside designated flood zones.
That makes it a target for budget cuts when finances become strained.
“Insurance is one of those things that, especially with flood insurance, I don’t necessarily need to have it,” Potter said. “People are going to look to make cuts there.”
One homeowner’s dilemma
Suzanne Bennett faced that decision firsthand.
The Oak Forest homeowner said she intentionally purchased a home that had never flooded and was not located in a flood zone. Even so, she decided to purchase flood insurance.
“It’s Houston, Texas,” Bennett said. “I thought if I flood and get two feet of water in my home, I’ll lose everything.”
When she first purchased coverage, Bennett said her annual premium was $817.
By last year, that cost had increased to approximately $1,300.
“Every year that I get it, I just take a big gulp,” Bennett said. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do it again this year.”
After losing her job, Bennett said canceling the policy became a serious consideration.
“It was absolutely on the table because I lost my job and money was difficult,” she said.
Ultimately, she decided to keep the coverage after recalling stories from people she knew who experienced devastating flood losses.
“I don’t think I could afford not to get the flood insurance,” Bennett said.
Instead, she said she reduced coverage in other areas to keep her flood policy active.
Flood insurance premiums climbing
Potter said rising premiums may also be contributing to policy cancellations.
He shared his own experience as a homeowner whose flood insurance costs have more than doubled since moving to Houston in 2017.
At the time, he paid about $500 annually for coverage. Today, he said, his premium exceeds $1,100 despite not being located in a newly designated FEMA floodplain.
“It’s more than doubled in its cost,” Potter said.
As costs continue increasing, many homeowners are forced to weigh flood protection against other necessities.
“When you’ve got these types of pressures on people’s wallets and pocketbooks the way that you do right now, I’m not saying it’s the right choice, but I think there’s a degree to which it’s an understandable choice that people are making,” Potter said.
Complacency or financial necessity?
While some experts believe homeowners may become less concerned about flooding after years without a major disaster, Potter said survey data suggests affordability is likely the larger factor.
Following Hurricane Harvey, support for stricter flood-related development policies was strong among Houston-area residents. While that support dipped in the years immediately afterward, Potter said more recent surveys show concern about flooding remains high.
“I don’t know that it’s an out-of-sight, out-of-mind issue for Houston area residents,” Potter said.
Instead, he believes many residents understand the risk but are struggling to afford protection.
“It does look to be more reflective of an affordability challenge as opposed to a psychological challenge,” he said.
Bennett agreed.
“I think it’s more false hope, not necessarily comfortability,” she said. “It hasn’t happened. I can’t afford it. I’m just going to grit my teeth and keep my fingers crossed.”
Then she added a warning for others considering dropping coverage.
“Hope isn’t a strategy.”
No easy solution
Potter said there may not be an immediate answer to the growing affordability challenge surrounding flood insurance.
As flood risk expands beyond traditionally vulnerable areas and insurance costs continue climbing, he said policymakers may eventually need to explore new approaches to maintaining coverage.
“We do need to find ways that don’t require people to gamble with their wealth, their well-being, their lives in some cases,” Potter said.
For now, flood officials continue urging residents not to underestimate the threat.
At the Harris County Flood Control District, Woodell said flooding remains one of the most significant risks facing local families.
“Flood risk continues to be the most pressing issue facing families in Harris County,” she said. “Flood insurance is part of the equation.