Weekly Roundup: Flooding in Texas; More States At Risk, Wildfire Survivors Demand Action
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2025
Contact: contact@insurancefairnessproject.com
Weekly Roundup: Flooding in Texas; More States At Risk, Wildfire Survivors Demand Action
Each week, the Insurance Fairness Project highlights the latest developments in the national climate-driven property insurance crisis.
1/ FLOODING IN TEXAS, WITH NO INSURANCE COVERAGE: The storms have already wrought billions of dollars in destruction — and many homeowners aren’t insured.
Only 2.2% of homes in Travis County, where the Eliashars live, have flood insurance, according to data from FEMA. And only 466 homes (also about 2.2%) in the hardest hit county – Kerr County – have policies.
Politico: Why Texas’ floods are a warning for the rest of the country
“The whole mindset needs to change,” [said former NFIP director David Maurstad]. “It should not be acceptable just to be able to be ready to respond and then recover the best we can.”
Union of Concerned Scientists: Seven Things You Need to Know About the Texas Flash Flood Tragedy
2/ PREMIUMS RISE WHILE INSURANCE EXECS MAKE BIG BUCKS: Climate-driven weather are happening in more places, driving up property insurance premiums everywhere. Meanwhile, the CEO and COO (his wife) of Florida’s Slide Insurance, which serves people shut out of the regular insurance market, made out big.
Between 2019 and 2024, the cost of home insurance increased by a cumulative 40.4 percent, the company found….
Men’s Journal: This Insurance CEO’s $50 Million Payday Has Americans Demanding Answers
…Bruce Lucas, CEO of Slide Insurance, and his wife, COO Alissa Lucas, brought in a combined $50 million in 2024 compensation, according to recent financial disclosures.
3/ WILDFIRE SURVIVORS GATHER: Six months after the L.A. fires, extreme weather survivors from the Eaton Fire in Altadena and the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado call on their state authorities to plug the gaps in the insurance system.
Spectrum News 1: 75 % of LA fire survivors were underinsured
“These disasters are not slowing down,” said Sierra Kos, founder of the Extreme Weather Survivors coalition[...] And while disasters are accelerating and becoming more costly, insurance companies just keep raising rates.”
Los Angeles Times: Angry homeowners push California probe into State Farm fire response
“Throughout this entire process State Farm has been like a black hole where hope and fairness go to die,” one testimonial said.
CBS News Colorado: Marshall Fire survivors push Boulder County to prevent insurance failures
Survivors of Colorado's Marshall Fire teamed up with leaders from Boulder County to address changes with what they call "insurance failures.”
4/ HOMEOWNERS FIND THEMSELVES SYSTEMATICALLY UNDERINSURED: Five states are launching an investigation into some insurers’ practice of underestimating rebuild costs.
San Francisco Chronicle: Multistate underinsurance investigation underway
…[F]or decades, insurance companies have relied on faulty algorithms to estimate how much their customers’ homes would cost to rebuild from the ground up, then used those flawed figures to set policy limits for their customers.
5/ CALIF. LAWMAKERS URGE INSURERS TO GO AFTER BIG OIL: U.S. Rep. (and former insurance commissioner) John Garamendi and State Sen. Jerry McNerney say rate hikes are unfair while fossil fuel companies — which are ultimately responsible for climate change — rake in record profits.
Resources
Insurance Fairness Project: Polling – Voters Want Their Government to Address the Property Insurance Crisis
Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project: Mapping the Home Insurance Crisis
Consumer Federation of America: Overburdened: The Dramatic Increase in Homeowners Insurance Premiums and its Impacts on American Homeowners
Brookings Institution: Homeowners insurance in an era of climate change
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The Insurance Fairness Project is an information hub dedicated to offering insights into the home insurance crisis, exploring its drivers and highlighting solutions alongside issue experts and community advocates.
