Homeowners Insurance
Flooding Has Caused $1.4 Billion in Damage to Noncompliant Homes Since 2010
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) pays out hundreds of millions of dollars to flood insurance policyholders for each year. But a large number of properties that file claims aren't compliant with FEMA's elevation requirements.
ValuePenguin analyzed claims data provided by FEMA and found that flooding has been responsible for more than $1.4 billion in damage to noncompliant properties since 2010. These properties, built in high-risk flood zones, were built an average of 3.7 feet below the base flood elevation point — the level where regulators anticipate rising water will settle.
While the amount of money paid on account of these properties is high, rising sea levels threaten to cause even more damage to noncompliant homes across the country.
Key findings
In the last decade noncompliant properties had $1.4 billion in flood insurance losses with only 800 claims going toward compliance efforts.
The average claim was $51,000 over 10 years, but that figure climbed to $66,000 in 2017, mostly due to damage resulting from Hurricane Harvey.
Together, Ocean and Monmouth counties in New Jersey and Nassau County in New York made up 27% of all noncompliant losses since 2010.
Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Harvey were responsible for $750 million in damage to noncompliant homes in the last decade.
More than 74,000 policies are set to expire in the second half of 2020 for noncompliant properties.
Table of contents
In nine of the last 10 years, the typical payout to noncompliant properties was $51,000.
In 2014, the total value of property damage claimed by noncompliant homes was only $8.2 million. However, those figures climbed into the tens of millions of dollars for most years between 2010 and 2019, and from 2016 to 2018, more than $1.2 billion was paid to homes built below the expected height of rising flood water.
No year was more destructive than 2012, which accounted for more than 40% of the flood insurance claims paid out to noncompliant properties in the last decade. In 2012, when Superstorm Sandy razed the Northeast coastline, about $580 million in damage was paid to homes constructed in violation of FEMA's elevation guidelines.
The average amount paid to noncompliant properties in 2012 was $58,000, up from the typical $51,000 per claim seen over the last decade. This number includes the cost to repair damaged buildings, replace contents and pay for structural adjustments to heavily damaged homes.
Policyholders may choose to elevate, demolish, relocate or flood proof their homes after a loss, and they can also claim up to $30,000 for repairs to make their homes compliant. However, fewer than 800 of the 35,000 policies from noncompliant properties made claims for these types of adjustments after a loss in the last 10 years.
This type of flood insurance claim is so infrequent because only certain homes are eligible. FEMA stipulates the following eligibility requirements:
- The property damage must equal at least 50% of the home's pre-flood market value.
- Expenses from structural adjustments must fit into a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy's $250,000 maximum total coverage, along with property and dwelling-related claims.
That means homeowners who can file a claim are confronted with an easy choice: Either set aside $30,000 from one's $250,000 coverage to bring one's home into compliance, or save one's home and property and continue purchasing coverage against future, perhaps uncommon, floods.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were claimed in New Jersey and New York as the result of flood damage to noncompliant homes.
While nearly every state has noncompliant properties that file flood insurance claims with FEMA, the states with a higher frequency of natural disasters tend to have the most cases. In states with long coastlines, like Florida, North Carolina and Louisiana, it's not uncommon for strong winds and tropical storms to cause damage — and for a homeowners insurance policy to be more expensive.
Specifically, properties in Monroe County, Florida; Craven County, North Carolina; and East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, made more than $100 million in claims, despite not being compliant with the guidelines issued by FEMA. The most claims, however, came from counties in New Jersey and New York — which don't typically experience strong hurricanes.
Ocean and Monmouth counties in New Jersey accounted for more than 5,000 claims collectively, totalling at least $350 million in the last decade. In Nassau County, New York, which placed fourth among the counties we surveyed for total value of noncompliant claims, property losses totaled $39 million. Together, these three counties made up 27% of the value of all noncompliant losses since 2010.
It's no coincidence that seven of the top 10 most expensive counties for noncompliant losses were in New Jersey and New York in the last decade, nor that claims in Harris County, Texas, accounted for more than $230 million. The vast majority of these losses stemmed directly from the damage inflicted by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Just two storms were responsible for $750 million in damage to noncompliant homes in the last decade, and rising sea levels could put tens of thousands more properties in danger.
After Superstorm Sandy made landfall in late October 2012, noncompliant properties across New Jersey and New York accumulated upward of $520 million in damage. This excludes damage in Maryland, Delaware and Connecticut, which was also significant. Similarly, damage to Houston, Corpus Christi and other smaller cities on Texas' Gulf Coast racked up no less than $240 million in claims after Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017.
As sea levels rise, more noncompliant homes could face the threat of flood damage. Recent conservative estimates published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S. show an expected median sea level rise of 26 centimeters, or about 10 inches, by the year 2100, with a gradual increase of a few millimeters per year.
The damage to New Jersey, New York and Houston underscores the damage that can be caused by a combination of under-protected homes, strong and unexpected storms, and rising sea levels — especially to homes built just at the local base flood elevation point. What's even more worrying, however, is that there are still many policies covering noncompliant homes.
At the end of 2019, the NFIP showed there were only 5.1 million policies in force. Of these policies, our data shows more than 74,000 will be in-force during the second half of 2020 for properties that don't meet the agency's elevation requirements. In fact, these properties are built an average of 4 feet under their local base flood elevation requirements.
Additionally, residents in Ocean County, New Jersey — the county that bore the brunt of Superstorm Sandy and recorded the most losses involving noncompliant homes during the last decade — have purchased more than 46,000 policies attached to noncompliant homes in the last five years.
Methodology
The data for this study was found using FEMA's historical database of flood insurance policies and claims. Based on this data, we identified claims made by homes built under their local base flood elevation levels since 2010, as well as the locations of these claims and the value of the claim.