Homeowners across southeastern Wisconsin are still recovering from the devastating effects of flooding earlier this year. For many, problems with insurance coverage have left them in the lurch as they attempt to navigate necessary repairs.
What's happening?
Major thunderstorms and torrential rains in early August brought some of the most destructive flash flooding the area has seen since 2008, according to the Wisconsin State Climatology Office.
The counties of Waukesha, Washington, Milwaukee, and Ozaukee experienced the worst of it, with rainfall totals ranging from 5 to 10 inches. The intense flooding rocked homes, leaving many residents with costly damage.
"Our foundation repair alone was about $63,000," Katy Thekan, a resident of West Allis, told Spectrum News Wisconsin.
"The whole wall caved in here. Forty-five feet of the wall caved in," Thekan continued, referring to the wall above her foundation in the backyard.
Thekan had insurance for sump pump failure and sewage backup — but not flooding insurance. That means that, just like many Wisconsinites, she has to pay for many of the repairs herself.
Based on her own estimates, Thekan has spent between $80,000 and $100,000 on flood-related repairs so far, with her insurance and benefits from the Federal Emergency Management Agency covering less than 50 percent of that cost.
"I explored every avenue when it came to the insurance," Thekan told the local news. "I reached out to adjustors who live in Northern Wisconsin and everybody told me 'Sorry, they're not going to do anything, you don't have flood insurance."
Why is this concerning?
Even though flooding is the most common natural disaster in Wisconsin, with a population of 6 million, there are only about 10,000 flood insurance policies through the National Flood Insurance Program, according to Spectrum News.
This may be due to a lack of transparency about insurance access, affordable coverage, and public education about flood risks.
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Not at all 🙅 "Most people think they can only get flood insurance if they live in a designated flood plain, as defined by FEMA, but that's not the case," Sarah Smith, director of public affairs at the state's Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, told the outlet.
"Nearly everyone in Wisconsin would be eligible to get flood insurance voluntarily whether they lived in a flood plain and were required by their lender to have, or if they just chose to get it."
Wisconsin residents aren't alone in facing these issues. For example, many in North Carolina who were affected by Hurricane Helene in 2024 did not have flood protection as part of their insurance policies. Environmental law professor Donald Hornstein of the University of North Carolina estimated that the storm caused $9.5 billion in uninsured residential losses, noting that many homeowners thought they wouldn't need flood coverage in the mountains.
Homeowners in wildfire-prone areas of the United States are facing similar coverage issues.
As rising global temperatures, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, intensify extreme weather events and extend their impacts into new regions, countless communities could be affected by a lack of coverage.
What's being done about this problem?
Mitigating the destructive potential of increasingly frequent floods ultimately will take large-scale action to cut down on the heat-trapping pollution warming our planet. Transitioning away from dirty fossil fuels to cleaner, more renewable energy sources — such as solar and wind — can make a difference.
At the same time, areas set to face flood damage again and again will need to take action to improve resilience at the community and state levels. And while this will often include infrastructure upgrades and nature-based solutions — like living shorelines — to reduce coastal flooding, improving insurance access and affordability will also be crucial to residents regularly threatened by destructive waters.
Government officials, such as Representative Angelito Tenorio, who represents West Allis, are fighting to ensure that residents receive greater transparency when signing up for flood insurance and are aware of available options.
"So, when people are signing up for insurance, they know what they're signing up for, what's covered and what isn't," Tenorio told Spectrum. "I'm also working on legislation for how the state can work alongside our federal government and FEMA to make sure flood insurance is accessible and affordable."
It's a step that could help influence changes in and outside of the state.
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