Proposal for Flood-Prone Areas Would Affect Texas Consumers and Insurance Industry
A bill filed in the Texas Senate would require home sellers to disclose if their property is in a flood-prone area or if it has already flooded, according to a post on the website of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.
The legislation from Houston-area Sen. Joan Huffman is meant to prevent a repeat of some of the flooding damage from Hurricane Harvey, when many people learned too late that their homes were built in flood plains or in reservoir areas designed to catch floodwaters.
Dallas insurance attorney Stacy Thompson of Perry Law P.C. said she believes the measure, if adopted, could lead to better insurance coverage for consumers, but would also affect insurance companies.
“Knowledge is certainly power. However, the implications of this bill reach far beyond home ownership,” she said. “Undoubtedly disclosing this information would affect property values, increase insurance premiums and have a lasting effect on the housing market in the coastal counties of Texas. Moreover, the bill would allow insurance companies to gain a better understanding of the risk they are insuring and hopefully offer a better overall product to customers. That would result in better coverage and a better outcome when natural disasters inevitably strike.”
