Flood insurance costs Texas homeowners an average $180 a month. The rate you pay for flood coverage is calculated based on the flood risk where you live, along with several other factors. You can purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is part of FEMA.
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How much does flood insurance cost in Texas?
Flood insurance in Texas costs an average $180 a month for building and contents coverage, $141 a month for building-only coverage and $76 a month for contents-only coverage. Your flood insurance quote is based on the following factors:
- Your home's flood zone
- Your home's age
- The design of your house
- The types of coverage purchased
- Your policy deductible
- Your property's elevation
The following tables show how average flood insurance rates in Texas break down based on the type of coverage you buy:
| Zone | Monthly rate |
|---|---|
| A | $93 |
| V | $330 |
| D | $204 |
| X | $93 |
| Average | $180 |
| Note: The cost of flood insurance in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) was calculated using publicly available NFIP data. | |
| Zone | Monthly rate |
|---|---|
| A | $85 |
| V | $279 |
| D | $143 |
| X | $57 |
| Average | $141 |
| Note: The cost of flood insurance in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) was calculated using publicly available NFIP data. | |
| Zone | Monthly rate |
|---|---|
| A | $59 |
| V | $121 |
| X | $47 |
| Average | $76 |
| Note: The cost of flood insurance in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) was calculated using publicly available NFIP data. | |
You can find your area's risk of flooding by using FEMA's online tool.
Flood zones in Texas
Flood zones in Texas — and the rest of the country — are determined by the chance of a flood occurring within a set period of years. For example:
Zone A: These zones have a 1% chance of flooding each year, and a 25% chance of flooding at least once in a 30-year period.
Zone D: These areas are often underpopulated and underdeveloped. The flood risk in these areas has not been determined, but still remains a possibility.
Zone V: These areas have the same chance of flooding as Zone A, but are considered at even higher risk due to their coastal locations.
Zone X: These zones are classified outside the 500-year floodplain, and are protected by flood control systems like levees from 100-year floodplains.
Where to get flood insurance in Texas
Many homeowners in Texas find flood insurance through the NFIP, which is managed by FEMA. You can purchase flood insurance through a company that writes and services NFIP flood insurance policies. Here are some insurance companies that write NFIP flood insurance policies in Texas:
- Assurant
- Selective
- The Hartford
- Allstate
- USAA
- Farmers
- National General
- Bankers Insurance
- Allied Trust
- American Strategic Insurance
- Homesite
You can find a complete list of companies providing NFIP policies in Texas here. Flood insurance rates are set by FEMA and are consistent across all insurers, so the price will be the same wherever you go in Texas. There is also a small market for private flood insurance if you don't want NFIP flood insurance. Private flood insurance may be able to provide higher coverage limits.
Do I need flood insurance in Texas?
You are required to have flood insurance if you live in a high-risk flood area and have a federally-backed mortgage. Mortgage lenders usually require you to carry flood insurance in such cases to protect their investment.
Since Texas has a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico, many homes there are at risk of flooding. We recommend that homeowners have flood insurance even if it is not required by federal law or your mortgage lender. Standard home insurance does not cover damage from floods. That means without a flood insurance policy, your home is not fully protected.
Historical flood damage in Texas
Hurricane Harvey caused more than $125 billion of damage in 2017, according to a National Hurricane Center report. The devastation was not limited to homes in SFHAs. In 2019, flooding due to tropical storm Imelda caused serious damage in southeastern Texas.
According to the Texas Tribune, Imelda dumped more than 41 inches of rain in some areas, while Harvey's highest rainfall total was nearly 61 inches.
Between 1996 and 2016, FEMA paid out more than $5 billion in NFIP flood insurance claims in Texas alone. That's the second-highest number of claims in that time period, behind only Louisiana.
These figures represent the amount of money paid to policyholders of NFIP flood insurance, underlining how valuable flood insurance can be. While flooding may not be severe in a given year, catastrophic flooding events inevitably occur.
Methodology
To find the average cost of flood insurance in Texas, we used publicly available policy data from FEMA. The total written premiums were divided by the number of policies in force to find the average cost of an NFIP flood insurance policy. Claims data was also sourced directly from FEMA.
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