Flood insurance increases have some homeowners under water with higher rates
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Insurance experts say you'll most likely see a double-digit increase in protecting your home from floods.
If your flood insurance premium went up, know that you're not alone
If your home gets hit with flood water, you won't be covered unless you have flood insurance.
"Your typical homeowner's insurance policy does not cover flood, and 60 to 65% of flooding events actually happen in low-risk areas," Insurance Council of Texas spokesperson Rich Johnson said.
It's a peace of mind that is more expensive than ever. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, recently made changes in how it calculates flood insurance rates.
It looks at how close you live to a flood source, how many times you've flooded, and how expensive it is to rebuild your home.
When FEMA introduced the changes, it projected the majority of Texans would pay upwards of $10 more monthly.
However, Johnson said it's closer to $15 more per month. If you don't like the price this year, you probably won't be happy next year either.
"We probably will see increases going into the next year or two until this thing kind of steadies out," Johnson said.
RELATED: Double-digit flood insurance rate increases are hitting Texans as hurricane season begins
Why the cost of flood insurance is higher than projected
Because of inflation, materials to rebuild your home are more expensive, and it's a cost not only impacting homeowners.
Renters can get flood insurance as well. It's a protection insurance experts say is also more expensive than last year.
"Even if you don't own your home, if you're a renter or a tenant, it's a good idea to look into a flood insurance policy," Johnson explained. "It's actually going to be a little less for you because you don't own the home."
If you don't have flood insurance, know that coverage doesn't start right away
Protection costs more, but it beats the alternative. Without it, you could be stuck paying out of pocket to rebuild.
"You can't look at insurance as a piggybank that you're putting money into with your insurance company or your flood insurance that's building up this cost," Johnson explained. "You're paying for everybody else's damage, and they're paying for yours."
Now that we're in hurricane season, experts said it's time to consider the coverage because it takes 30 days for flood insurance policies to start.
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