Insurers: After Hurricane Harvey, here's what works and what doesn't for Texas homeowners

AUSTIN — Homes with lower-quality asphalt roof shingles, sliding glass doors and two-car garages with two separate doors were likely to sustain greater damage from the high winds of Hurricane Harvey, a new report from an insurance industry group finds.

“The take away here is that the newer homes, built to modern codes generally fared better than older, weaker buildings,” said Tanya Brown-Giammanco, the vice president of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.

Brown-Giammanco is the lead author of a 36-page report that assessed building damage in the Texas Coastal Bend beginning shortly after Hurricane Harvey made landfall on Aug. 25, 2017. Now as the year anniversary of the historic storm during another hurricane season here's some key findings:

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• Double garage doors withstood the high winds much better two doors on a two-car garage.
• Home attachments such as porches, sun rooms and pool cages were especially susceptible to damage and often lead to even further damage to the main house.
• Doors that were not protected doors were damaged six times more frequently than protected doors. And sliding glass doors were likely to sustain damage even if they were reinforced before the storm arrived.

"Reinforcing garage doors and buying the strongest wind-rated door available are smart moves because once a garage door fails, major damage to the home and roof is often inevitable due to the wind pressure that can get into the house," Brown-Giammanco said.

Upgrades might cost money on the front end but can save homeowners money on their insurance rates, the institute said.

• Read the full report

The institute bills itself as a nonprofit scientific research organization supported supported by the insurance industry. It also rates the building codes in states along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts for their ability to minimize damage when major hurricanes strike.

Texas was ranked 15th among the 18 coastal states.

“Texas does not have a statewide building code, or enforcement standards to ensure codes in place are followed." said Roy E. Wright, the institute's president and CEO.

SEE MORE ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF HARVEY

Florida, one of the nation's most hurricane-prone states, ranked at the top, according the institute's most recent survey completed before the 2018 hurricane season opened on June 1.

Virginia, South Carolina, New Jersey and Connecticut rounded out the top five states. Coming in behind Texas were Mississippi, Alabama and Delaware.

The Texas Department of Insurance estimates that insurance companies will pay homeowners affected by Harvey in the state nearly $1.5 billion to cover damaged and lost homes. About $1 billion more will be paid to residents of other types of dwellings, including mobile homes.

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Meanwhile, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association this week issued a notice to policyholders that the clock is ticking for those planning to make Harvey-related claims.

"If a TWIA policyholder already has a claim with TWIA for damage resulting from Hurricane Harvey, they do not need to report a new claim," the association said in a news release. "Policyholders may simply provide TWIA with information about the damage that has not been addressed as part of their existing Harvey claim."

TWIA advises policyholders to contact their current claims examiner, or to reach out to the association directly, either by calling (800-788-8247) or by sending an email to claims@twia.org.  

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