‘If it can rain, it can flood’: Amid severe storms in Bucks County, Pa. officials are trying to tackle rising flood insurance premiums

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On Wednesday, as rain poured down and puddles formed, members of a statewide task force focused on flood insurance premiums toured several Bucks County areas that have been prone to flooding — including Upper Makefield Township, where a flash flood claimed the lives of seven people last July.

Since it was established last fall, the Pennsylvania Flood Insurance Premium Task Force has focused on how to address rising flood insurance premiums, increase the number of Pennsylvanians with flood insurance, and what local governments can do to mitigate flood risks.

Michael Humphreys, an insurance commissioner and task force chair, said “not even close” to enough people have flood insurance in Pennsylvania. Currently, there are only about 60,000 flood insurance policies across the commonwealth, Humphreys said.

“That’s really one of the driving factors for the legislators creating the legislation to establish this task force in the first place. It was, how can we reduce premiums? And how can we increase access and really understanding that flood insurance is available?”

Humphreys said some homeowners might not realize flood insurance isn’t usually included within a standard insurance policy.

“When my team goes out following a flood event, there’s two things we hear from individuals that have been affected,” Humphreys said. “The first is, ‘I thought my homeowner’s covered flood.’ Generally, that’s not correct. And the second is, ‘I didn’t think I could buy flood or I didn’t think I had to buy flood.’”

In the Northeast and around the U.S., heavy rains are getting heavier, according to SciLine at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In the top 1% of extreme rainfall events in the Northeast, the amount of rain in a 24-hour period has increased by 55%. Evidence shows heavy rain events are becoming more frequent and are lasting longer.

With the increase in climate-related extreme weather events, both insurers and homeowners in the Philadelphia region are rethinking how to assess climate risks and insure against damages.

Humphreys noted there are a number of ways to purchase flood insurance outside of policies offered by the FEMA-backed National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Some homeowner policies might offer a rider for flood insurance, and the market for private insurance has grown “pretty considerably,” he said. What used to represent about 1,000 policies in the state is now up to 10,000 to 15,000 of the existing flood insurance policies in Pennsylvania today.

“It can be really affordable depending on the amount of coverage you feel like you need. And most importantly, it is available across the commonwealth,” Humphreys said.

Addressing flood insurance costs and awareness is one part of the puzzle; the other is mitigation.

Before the task force meeting on Wednesday, the first held outside of Harrisburg, members visited two sites in Upper Makefield and Lower Makefield townships to see flood mitigation efforts that have been put in place in those areas.

State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, who represents the area, explained to the other task force members at Black Rock Road and the Delaware Canal in Lower Makefield Township that residents had seen repeated flooding from the canal about 20 years ago. State funding allowed the township to dredge the canal and widen a culvert to help with stormwater drainage — changes that meant the canal has not flooded “in a serious way” since then.

“It’s just one example of where those types of structural changes can make a difference in helping to reduce the tendency of flooding,” said Santarsiero, who lives in Lower Makefield. “Not foolproof, obviously, but it’s done a pretty good job since that time.”

Despite mitigation efforts, flooding in the area is still a concern, and Santarsiero said many residents in the designated FEMA floodplain cannot afford flood insurance.

Tom Hughes, of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, said that the impacts of human-caused climate change on rain events mean preparation at all levels is key.

A recent PEMA study looked at where flooding damages occurred in the state over the last 30 years, and 94% of the time they occurred outside of FEMA’s digital flood insurance rate maps, said Hughes, director of the Emergency Management Mitigation, Insurance and Resilient Communities Office.

“Our main message is to get the word out to folks, that if it can rain, it can flood. And so there’s ways that we can help them … to minimize the impacts to their homes.”

The task force is expected to provide recommendations for lowering flood insurance premiums and supporting flood mitigation efforts to Gov. Josh Shapiro and the General Assembly by July 1.

Santarsiero said recommendations could include legislative or administrative proposals, “dealing with both the affordability issue and also what we can do to help towns plan and incentivize them to better manage stormwater.”

The task force has two additional meetings in May and June. Both are scheduled to take place in Harrisburg. The state Insurance Department also has resources for homeowners considering purchasing flood insurance online.