Where in Bucks County insurance costs are rising the most, and what you can do

April Raison remembers the storm that destroyed her apartment and nearly all her possessions.

Her insurance company refers to the destructive flood last July as an "act of God."

Hours after a flash flood invaded Raison's home in a complex off the Poquessing Creek, she learned that none of the damage would be covered by her insurer.

"Everyone who rents in Bucks County must have insurance, but it doesn't cover floods," said Raison, sitting in her Lafayette Gardens apartment in Bensalem on a chair leased from a local Rent-A-Center. "You learn the hard way," she said. "Insurance does not cover you."

As flash floods, rising rivers, tropical storms, and tornadoes become more common, more people are turning to insurance carriers. Premiums are rising and brokers are scaling back on the types of coverage offered for apartments, autos, and homes, industry analysts say.

Insurance companies use actuaries who study the risk and give each property a score, explained Tom La Croix, an Allstate agent with offices in Fairless Hills. Insurance claims for natural disasters near your property can hurt your score, he said. "We do have people looking at risk down to the ZIP code," La Croix said.

In fact, homeowners insurance premiums have risen in nearly every ZIP code in Bucks County since 2015, government records show.

Both inflation and natural disasters are influencing those insurance costs, said Roy Wright, president of the Insurance Institute for Home and Business Safety. "Two things are driving these price points," said Wright.

"The price of labor and materials is rising. The risk has changed with the frequency and severity of events," he said.

"Just like with car insurance, if you get into more accidents it affects your price."

And last year, Bucks County and the region had a lot of "accidents." The region experienced 10 extreme weather events last summer alone.

Twisters brought reports of damages in Buckingham, Bensalem, Bristol Borough, Doylestown, Hilltown, New Hope, Silverdale, and Telford. Historically, the state has about a dozen twisters per year. In 2021, Pennsylvania had 50.

And, when it wasn't wind, the problem was water. Lots and lots of water.

Downgraded to a tropical storm, Hurricane Ida in early September dropped copious amounts of rain on the region and brought flooding to many areas in Bucks County.

In July, an unusual network of thunderstorms classified as a "mesoscale connective system" dropped 10 inches of water on parts of Bensalem, Bristol and Levittown in a single afternoon. That was the storm that left Raison and dozens of others out of their homes as parts of Lafayette Gardens were deemed uninhabitable.

Damages from events like these storms are often not covered by current insurance. Check the fine print on your policy.

Some plans now include "extremely high" deductibles for losses caused by hail and wind, said Jim Tolliver, an insurance counselor with Wooduff Sawyer, one the nation's largest insurance brokers.

"Due to increased losses, the capacity to write coverage is more restrictive today than in the past," said Tolliver. "Companies are also modifying the coverage they write, pushing more risk onto the consumer."

Auto insurance premiums also are rising due to increased risk from flooding and hail and because the technology in vehicles makes them more expensive to replace and repair, he added. "With severe weather events on the rise, in particular flooding and hail, losses can be massive," Tolliver said.

Insurance costs in Bucks County

The average Bucks County homeowner spent $636 to insure a home in 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, which conducts surveys on consumer spending by ZIP code.

The price of a homeowners policy was up $96, or 19%, from 2015, according to federal estimates.

Some of the largest premium increases were recorded in ZIP codes in Dublin (49%), Levittown (42%), and Telford (37%), according to the Labor Department.

Statistically, people in older and generally less expensive homes pay more money to insure them.

The devil is in the details. Just look at what people pay to insure both modest and luxury homes.

A homeowner in Bristol pays, on average, $573 per year to insure a home valued at $189,200. So, for every $100 spent on insurance, the insurer promises to cover $32,969 of home value.

The average cost of homeowners insurance in New Hope was $785 for a property valued at $579,000. For every $100 spent on insurance, the agency covers $73,575 in home value.

That's double the coverage for the same amount paid to the insurer. Some insurance companies say the rates are cheaper because newer homes are built better, though there is also a perceived sense that wealthier communities are safer.

Data is limited on auto insurance claims tied to a flooded roadways or renters seeking damage because of storm.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners publishes annual reports on premiums paid by state.

Pennsylvanians spent $9 billion in 2020 and $9.2 billion in 2021 for auto insurance premiums, according to the NAIC. Rates climbed despite a sharp drop in the number of Americans driving to work and other limited travel due to the pandemic.

Insurance companies collected $26.6 billion in premiums for all types of coverage in Pennsylvania last year. That was up $600 million from the year prior, NAIC records show.

While rising home values could affect price of insurance, many in Bucks County haven't updated their policies to reflect the changes and those homeowners are now "underinsured," said La Croix.

"We've got homes in Levittown valued at $500,000 and they're only insured for up to $185,000 in damages," La Croix said. "If the property is totaled – and that's rare, but it does happen – you're not getting the amount you would need to replace the home with the price of real estate today."

Rising home values also pose risks for those with government-subsidized flood insurance.

"If you get your insurance through FEMA, which almost everyone does, it is capped at $250,000," said Wright, who previously worked as the chief executive of the National Flood Insurance Program.

"We are going to see people who are underinsured for flooding," said Wright. "Congress has not increased the cap for flood damage since 1994."

How to protect your home

Flood and wind damage are the most common claims from natural disasters in Pennsylvania.

Some less expensive steps to protect your property from flooding can include elevating expensive appliances 24 inches above the floor, where possible. FEMA also recommends replacing carpet with tile flooring, caulking the seams around windows and doors, and clearing debris from storm drains and gutters.

Just one inch of water in the home usually results in $25,000 in property damage, according to FEMA.

Small steps can also prevent damage from severe winds.

Remove dying or diseased trees and trim branches close to your home. Check for other items that could become projectiles in the event of a tornado.

Hardware stores sell clear plastic films that can strengthen large window panes and straps that promise to secure your roof to the walls of your home.

Unfortunately, most other measures to protect against extreme weather are very expensive.

"Everyone needs to update their roof every decade of so," said Wright. "You need to seal off your roof beneath those shingles."

"If you're in an EF2 or EF3 tornado, it's going to destroy your home. But with an EF1 or EF0, we know how to construct a home to withstand those winds."

Of the 50 reported tornadoes in Pennsylvania last year, three were classified as EF2 on the Fujita scale for winds ranging between 111 and 130 mph. Those twisters caused an estimated $14 million in property damage in the state in 2021, according to federal estimates.

Severe winds from tornadoes can also open cracks in the walls and ceilings of a property and might not affect homeowners until a future rain event, said Wright. "When water intrudes during a wind and rain event, there is a five- to seven-time multiplier on that insurance claim."

Securing homes against floods is much more challenging.

You can lobby your community to invest in better storm drainage systems, said Wright. You can elevate your home ... or you can move, he said.

"If you're in a flood zone, the mortgage carrier is going to require you have flood insurance, but if you live across the street or even five blocks away from that [flood] line, you can still flood," he added. "Mother Nature doesn't stop at that boundary."