If you're buying a home in Friendswood or already own one here, you've probably heard neighbors talk about Hurricane Harvey. And for good reason—Harvey dumped over four feet of rain on this Houston Bay Area suburb in 2017, flooding roughly 3,000 homes and changing how everyone thinks about insurance coverage. The thing is, Friendswood's location makes it uniquely vulnerable. You're close enough to Galveston Bay to worry about hurricane storm surge, but you're also dealing with Clear Creek and three other major creek systems that can overflow during heavy rain events. This isn't just about worst-case scenarios. It's about understanding what your home insurance actually covers and what it doesn't.
Here's what most people don't realize until it's too late: your standard homeowners insurance won't pay a dime for flood damage. Not from hurricane storm surge, not from creek overflow, not from heavy rainfall that saturates the ground. That coverage requires a separate flood insurance policy, and in Friendswood, it's not optional—it's essential. Let's walk through what you actually need to know about insuring your home in this community.
Understanding Friendswood's Unique Insurance Landscape
Friendswood straddles two counties—Harris and Galveston—with Clear Creek serving as the boundary line. Your ZIP code 77546 gets split into north (Harris County) and south (Galveston County) sections. Why does this matter for insurance? Because Galveston County is designated as a coastal county, which significantly impacts both your hurricane risk profile and your insurance rates. Being in a coastal county means insurers view your property as more exposed to windstorm damage and storm surge, even though Friendswood itself sits inland from the coast.
The average homeowners insurance premium in Friendswood runs between $1,256 and $1,550 per year—which sounds reasonable until you compare it to the Texas statewide average of $4,585 per year. Friendswood actually comes in lower than many coastal areas. For perspective, Galveston homeowners pay an average of $7,953 annually for the same coverage. But don't get too comfortable with those numbers. Texas home insurance premiums jumped 21% in 2023 and another 19% in 2024, and there's no sign of that trend reversing. High-risk areas like hurricane coastlines and flood-prone regions continue seeing double-digit rate increases.
What's driving these increases? A combination of factors. Friendswood gets an average of 55 inches of rain per year—more than double the Texas average of 25 inches. You've got four major creek systems running through the area that can flood during heavy rainfall. And you're still within range of Galveston Bay's storm surge when hurricanes make landfall. Insurance companies are pricing in all of these risks, and after Harvey, they're not taking chances.
The Flood Insurance Gap You Need to Close
Here's the statistic that should keep you up at night: during Hurricane Harvey, only 30% of flooded households in the Houston area had flood insurance. That means 70% of homeowners faced devastating losses with no coverage to help them rebuild. The damage to uninsured properties was two to three times higher in dollar value than damage to insured properties—because without insurance money, many families couldn't afford proper repairs and had to make do with partial fixes or go into debt.
About 2,400 homes in Friendswood sustained damage during Harvey's flooding, primarily from Clear Creek overflow and runoff from nearby neighborhoods. If you're thinking 'that was a once-in-a-lifetime storm,' consider this: Friendswood has experienced significant flooding multiple times, including during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. Climate patterns suggest these intense rainfall events are becoming more frequent, not less.
The good news? Flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) can cost less than $400 per year for many properties, especially if you're not in a high-risk flood zone. Even if you are in a designated flood zone, the cost is often far less than you'd expect—and dramatically less than the cost of rebuilding after a flood without coverage. You can purchase flood insurance through most insurance agents, and it typically takes 30 days for coverage to take effect, so don't wait until a storm is approaching.
You can check your property's specific flood zone designation using the City of Friendswood's GIS mapping tool or FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. Your flood zone determines whether your mortgage lender requires flood insurance (they will if you're in a high-risk zone) and helps you understand your actual risk level. But here's something important: even if you're not in a designated high-risk zone, that doesn't mean you're safe from flooding. Harvey proved that flooding can happen anywhere in Friendswood when rainfall is extreme enough.
What Your Homeowners Policy Covers (and Doesn't)
Your standard homeowners insurance policy covers hurricane wind damage to your home and belongings. If a hurricane tears off your roof, breaks your windows, or causes a tree to fall on your house, your homeowners policy handles those repairs. It also covers other common perils like fire, theft, vandalism, and liability if someone gets injured on your property. So far, so good.
But there's a critical gap. Standard homeowners insurance explicitly excludes flood damage. That includes storm surge from hurricanes, creek overflow, heavy rainfall that causes water to enter your home, and groundwater seepage. If water comes up from the ground or flows across the ground into your home, that's considered flooding—and your homeowners policy won't cover it. This is why you need separate flood insurance.
In Friendswood's coastal-adjacent location, you also want to make sure you have adequate windstorm coverage. Some insurers in Texas have been reducing wind/hail coverage limits or requiring separate windstorm policies. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) provides coverage for coastal properties that can't get wind insurance in the standard market, though Friendswood properties are more likely to find coverage through standard insurers than properties directly on the coast.
When shopping for homeowners insurance in Friendswood, pay attention to your dwelling coverage limit—that's the amount your insurer will pay to rebuild your home if it's destroyed. With construction costs rising significantly in recent years, make sure this limit is high enough to actually rebuild your home at today's prices. Many homeowners are underinsured without realizing it because they haven't updated their coverage limits to reflect current construction costs.
Smart Strategies for Friendswood Homeowners
First, shop around. Insurance rates in Texas vary dramatically between companies, and what one insurer charges $5,000 for, another might quote at $3,500 for the same coverage. Get quotes from at least three different insurers, and consider working with an independent insurance agent who can compare multiple carriers for you. Harris County has over 66,000 FAIR Plan policies—the last-resort insurer when no one else will cover you—and Galveston County has another 7,700. These policies are expensive and provide limited coverage, so you want to stay in the standard insurance market if possible.
Second, consider mitigation improvements. Installing storm shutters, upgrading your roof to impact-resistant materials, and improving your home's drainage can sometimes qualify you for insurance discounts. More importantly, these improvements actually reduce your risk of damage during storms. After Harvey, many Friendswood homeowners elevated their homes or made other flood-mitigation improvements. While these projects aren't cheap, they can lower your flood insurance premiums and give you peace of mind.
Third, review your coverage annually. With premiums increasing rapidly and policy terms changing, what you bought three years ago might not be adequate today. Make sure your dwelling coverage keeps pace with construction costs, your personal property coverage reflects what you actually own, and your deductibles are still manageable for your financial situation. Hurricane deductibles are often separate and percentage-based (commonly 2-5% of your dwelling coverage), which means on a $300,000 home, you could face a $6,000 to $15,000 deductible if a hurricane hits.
Finally, don't skip flood insurance to save money. The average flood claim is over $30,000, and FEMA disaster assistance (if it's even available) typically provides only a few thousand dollars in grants that you don't have to repay. That might cover temporary housing but won't rebuild your home. At under $400 per year for many properties, flood insurance is one of the best investments you can make as a Friendswood homeowner.
Taking Action on Your Coverage
The best time to review and improve your insurance coverage is before you need it. Start by pulling out your current homeowners policy and actually reading through it—most people have no idea what they're covered for until they file a claim. Check your dwelling coverage limit, understand your deductibles, and look for any exclusions or limitations that might surprise you during a claim.
Then, get a flood insurance quote even if you don't think you need it. Visit the City of Friendswood's flood risk resources page to understand your property's specific situation, and talk to your insurance agent about adding flood coverage. Remember that there's a 30-day waiting period before flood insurance takes effect, so you can't wait until a storm is forecasted and then buy coverage.
Living in Friendswood means enjoying a great community with excellent schools and a strong sense of place. But it also means being realistic about the risks that come with this location. The homeowners who weathered Harvey best weren't the ones who got lucky—they were the ones who had proper insurance coverage in place before the storm hit. Make sure you're one of them when the next big storm arrives.
