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56 | TH E M R EP O RT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST GOVERNMENT LOCAL EDITION GOVERNMENT Texas Mulls Flood Insurance Disclosures THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE ISSUED RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT FLOOD INSURANCE POLICY LAWS. TEXAS // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has recom- mended adopting laws requiring that property insurance policies include a disclosure that the policy does not cover flood dam- age. The agency proposed this step in its biennial report to the state legislature. The issue at the core of this proposal is the rule that property within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 100-year floodplain must have flood insurance to get a feder- ally backed mortgage. TDI, in its report, said that during Hurricane Harvey, more than half the homes that were flooded were outside of these designated flood zones and most of those didn't have flood insurance. Another issue was the aware- ness among homeowners on this rule. TDI noted that some home- owners outside the flood zones and even renters in the flood zones were not aware that they might need flood insurance. The need for such a rule, TDI stated became even more important in the light of the fact that the state was "particularly prone to floods and almost every major city in Texas had areas that were at high risk of flooding." Additionally, since development could change an area's flood risk, it was difficult to keep the flood maps developed by FEMA up to date. As a result, TDI has recom- mended amending the state's Insurance Code to require prop- erty policies to include a promi- nent disclosure if the property does not cover flood damage. TDI recommended two alternatives to achieve this: 1) requiring TDI to adopt rules for such disclosure, or 2) providing specific language in the statute for the disclosure Currently, six states have a similar law in place. They include Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, and Washington. Floods after Hurricane Harvey impacted not only properties but also homeowners' ability to pay. In a case study conducted in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, CoreLogic found that FEMA designated counties fol- lowing Hurricane Harvey saw a significant increase in 90-plus day delinquency when compared to delinquency rates just six months prior. In these counties, proper- ties estimated to be damaged saw a 205 percent increase in 90-plus day delinquency, and undamaged properties saw a 167 percent in- crease in 90-plus day delinquency. LOCAL EDITION GOVERNMENT SOMETIMES, IT'S GOOD TO BE A FOLLOWER. Follow MReport on social media to put the latest mortgage banking news, stories, strategies, and insights at the touch of your fingertips. MReport @TheMReportNews The MReport SOMETIMES, IT'S GOOD TO BE A FOLLOWER. Follow MReport on social media to put the latest mortgage banking news, stories, strategies, and insights at the touch of your fingertips. MReport @TheMReportNews The MReport