JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The devastation in Texas, including hundreds of thousands of flooded homes and businesses, could have an impact in Northeast Florida, particularly where flood insurance is concerned.
Congress is currently debating whether to re-authorize the national flood insurance program, which is billions of dollars in debt from past storms like Hurricane Katrina.
And Hurricane Harvey’s flooding could impact what is by far the nation’s largest insurer: the federal government.
Carol Criswell has lived along Black Creek, a notorious flood zone, for years and said she can relate to the damage she's seeing in Houston.
“Oh yes, I feel for them. I look at them, and I know how you feel,” Criswell said. “When we had damage downstairs, we had $48,000 worth of damage.”
Criswell is one of the few who changed to a private insurer with more reasonable rates after a major flood five years ago.
“Lloyd's of London is who I got it through now, and it’s $1,400 a year,” Criswell said. “It’s still a pretty penny when you’re retired and on a fixed income.”
Criswell’s question now is whether flood insurance, which is only required for homes in floodplains, will change again.
“For decades, there was only one game in town, and that was the national flood insurance program,” said John Young, who owns A Newton & Young Insurance in Orange Park. “The national flood insurance program is very rigid.”
Young said there will likely be changes coming to federal flood insurance, and homeowners will need to be in touch with their agents -- but it’s difficult to predict because this is one of the most complex and constantly changing areas in the industry.
The bottom line is it’s too soon to know whether insurance rates will go up.
“I see change to the program where they look at the impact of the last major event and then they re-tool the program,” Young said.
With the flooding in Texas, it's likely thousands of homes that weren't in regular floodplains were affected, but weren't insured.
In general, homeowners have to pay for damage in those cases out of pocket, because flood damage is not covered by regular homeowner’s insurance.