The recent flooding that affected parts of south Louisiana was so severe that experts are now encouraging everybody in the state to secure flood insurance, regardless of where their properties lie on the flood map.
“I think everyone in Louisiana should have flood insurance,” Rapides Area Planning Commission assistant director and flood-plain manager Melissa Becker told thetowntalk.com.
The natural disaster damaged over 40,000 homes in the area.
Becker commented that with more flood events affecting even areas previously determined as low-risk, “it’s almost to the point where [everyone] can’t afford not to have flood insurance.”
State insurance commissioner Jim Donelon is of the same opinion, adding that the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is a must-have for all property owners.
"There is no doubt but that the best insurance buy a property owner anywhere in Louisiana can make is the National Flood Insurance Program," Donelon remarked.
Becker commented that while the recent rains largely affected south Louisiana, it could well have occurred in central Louisiana instead.
“We could easily be in the same boat that they are in,” Becker pointed out.
During the previous spring flooding that affected central Louisiana, many flood victims did not have flood insurance.
“Everybody that’s in a flood plain is not carrying flood insurance. We found that out with the last flood event that we had here,” said Becker. “A lot of the people that flooded from the March storm had no (flood) insurance because they didn’t have a mortgage or they just couldn’t afford it.”
According to data from the state Department of Insurance, only 21% of the residences in Louisiana are covered by flood insurance. The data also suggests that properties further from the coast are least likely to secure flood insurance.
"That's very low," Donelon said of the figure. "When Katrina hit we had 360,000 flood insurance policies in the state. That ballooned to 490,000 in 2008 and dropped back down to 450,000 statewide now."
Another report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) revealed that roughly 45% of homeowners in Louisiana who live in areas at high risk of flooding have flood insurance. The report also noted that in areas designated low to moderated risk, the figure falls sharply to about 12%.
Homeowners’ and renters’ insurance policies typically do not cover for flood damage. On the other hand, comprehensive car insurance does cover for any water damages an automobile could sustain due to flooding.
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