The catastrophic flooding in Texas from Hurricane Harvey should serve as a reminder to everyone in Louisiana—even those who do not live in the highly vulnerable so-called 100-year flood plain—of the importance of having flood insurance, says Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon.
“The takeaway from this disaster is the same one we learned last year: Get flood insurance,” Donelon says. “It is the best insurance buy a property owner can make anywhere in our state.”
In the last two years, 56 of the 64 parishes in Louisiana have been declared disaster areas as a result of flooding, and 14 or those parishes have been declared disaster parishes twice in the last two years.
“And it’s going to happen again,” Donelon says. “It could happen later this week,” he notes, as the remnants of Harvey pass over Louisiana.
Statistics suggest Louisiana residents are starting to get the message when it comes to flood insurance—particularly in the Capital Region, which was hard hit by the August 2016 flood. In the four months following the flood, the number of homeowners in East Baton Rouge Parish with flood insurance increased from 13% last August to more than 19% in December—a 46% increase. In Livingston Parish, the number increased from 23% to more than 34% during the same period. In Ascension Parish, it rose from 24.5% to 33%.
Statewide, the increase in those insured against flood damage is less impressive, though still notable. It inched up from 22% in August 2016 to 23.4% in December.
Donelon says there is a direct correlation between events like the August 2016 flood and the Hurricane Harvey disaster and the surge in new policyholders. But it’s still challenging to convince many homeowners they need flood insurance.
“It’s hard to educate folks and the program has a defect in it,” he says. “If you’re not in a so-called vulnerable area, the lender will tell you you don’t need it. That’s a huge disincentive and it prevents a lot of folks from doing what they should do.”
Donelon hopes with better education, attitudes will continue to change.
“People need to understand that 25% of claims paid for by the NFIP are on properties that are not supposed to flood,” he says.
—Stephanie Riegel
