The Texas Department of Insurance and its Commission on Environmental Quality include on their websites warnings about the importance of flood insurance because ordinary insurance does not cover flood. Links to just two follow.
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The D.O.I., following Tropical Storm Allison, placed an advisory on its website concerning flood and windstorm damage:
"Two basic principles apply to flood coverage:
* Homeowners and other residential property policies don´t cover flood. National Flood Insurance Program policies, sold by local agents, can fill this gap.
* Automobile policies with "comprehensive" coverage pay for flood damage. Because "mobilowners" policies on manufactured homes technically are auto policies, they, too, generally cover flood damage. However, insurers may exclude flood coverage for manufactured homes in Texas´ 14 coastal counties."
Texas Department of Insurance - Flood Raised Insurance Questions
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality points visitors to its website to "The National Flood Insurance Program: How to Join and How it Works (PDF). From page 5 of this 16-page brochure emphasizing the cost of flooding in Texas and the importance of participation in the NFIP:
"In 1999, the Texas Legislature passed a law that requires the governing bodies of each city and county in Texas to take the necessary action to become eligible for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program by January 1, 2001. Devastating floods in Del Rio, Houston, and South Texas in the fall of 1998 prompted the Legislature to act. These floods caused 41 deaths and $245 million in property damage."
"In the wake of the 1998 floods, many residents in flood-prone areas discovered that they could not obtain federal financial assistance because their communities had not chosen to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Information about the program in this brochure will help city and county leaders understand the steps they need to take to comply with Texas law and to meet the needs of their residents by participating in the NFIP."