Houston Area Flood Insurance 2009

Hurricane season starts June 1st - November 30th and FEMA reports that everyone in Harris County lives in a flood zone. Even if you haven't flooded before, someone floods for the very first time every time there is a flood. Changes in residential building and infrastructure changes the run off of water that you may not be aware of. As little as a few inches of water and cause repairs such as replacing all the flooring, up to 5 feet high of sheetrock and insulation, plus the cost of fans to prevent mold growing as most insurance policies don't cover mold.

-Everyone lives in a flood zone. (For more information, visit floodsmart.gov
-Most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage.
-Just an inch of water can cause costly damage to your property.
-Flash floods often bring walls of water 10 to 20 feet high.
-A car can easily be carried away by just two feet of floodwater.
-Hurricanes, winter storms and snowmelt are common (but often overlooked) causes of flooding.
-New land development can increase flood risk, especially if the construction changes natural runoff paths.
-Federal disaster assistance is usually a loan that must be paid back with interest. For a $50,000 loan at 4% interest, your monthly payment would be around $240 a month ($2,880 a year) for 30 years. Compare that to a $100,000 flood insurance premium, which is about $400 a year ($33 a month).
-It takes 30 days after purchase for a policy to take effect, so it's important to buy insurance before the floodwaters start to rise.
-Your home has a 26% chance of being damaged by a flood during the course of a 30-year mortgage, compared to a 9% chance of fire.
-Last year, one-third of all claims paid by the NFIP were for policies in low-risk communities.
-The average annual U.S. flood losses in the past 10 years (1994-2004) were more than $2.4 billion.

Below are packaged prices for zones that don't have a history of flooding in Harris county, typically referred to as "non flood zones". This is a government policy so the price should be the same, no matter which company the policy is purchased from.

Building and Contents Coverage (Without Basement) for Harris County

Building................Contents.................Premium

$20,000.00.............$8,000.00...............$119.00

$30,000.00.............$12,000.00.............$148.00

$50,000.00.............$20,000.00.............$196.00

$75,000.00.............$30,000.00.............$230.00

$100,000.00...........$40,000.00.............$257.00

$125,000.00...........$50,000.00.............$277.00

$150,000.00...........$60,000.00.............$296.00

$200,000.00...........$80,000.00.............$326.00

$250,000.00...........$100,000.00...........$348.00