The Federal Emergency Management Agency has finalized new flood insurance rate maps for Montgomery County and is encouraging property owners with property along the county's floodplains to purchase flood insurance, officials said.

The maps were finalized in February following an appeals process for preliminary maps issued in 2008, Assistant Montgomery County Engineer Dan Wilds said. The new maps will take effect on Aug. 18.

"In general, I think the new maps coincide with the old maps reasonably well," Wilds said. "There are not very large or widespread changes, however, on some individual properties there can be some differences."

Residents in the Pinehurst and Magnolia areas will experience some changes under the finalized maps, said Stephanie Moffett of FEMA Region 6 External Affairs.

"In the Magnolia and Pinehurst areas, the changes were mainly due to newer and better topographic data called Light Detection and Ranging data, which was collected by the Texas Natural Resources Information System," Moffett said. "However, we did incorporate a new hydrology and hydraulics study on Spring Creek."

Flooding is the most common natural disaster in the U.S., and a separate flood insurance policy is often the most effective way to cover unexpected damages from flooding, according to FEMA.

Because flood insurance is not included in standard homeowner insurance policies, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program to provide property owners financial protection in 1968.

"Standard homeowners' insurance only covers falling water such as rain damage but does not cover rising water, which is damage from flooding," said Patricia Brautigam, owner of a Farmers Insurance Agency in Magnolia. "The cost of carrying flood insurance versus not is beneficial because the insurance is going to pay you much more than what you pay in premiums."

Floodsmart.gov, the official NFIP website, estimates the average flood insurance policy—for homes in all risk categories—costs about $650 per year. Brautigam said flood insurance premiums are set by FEMA and do not change regardless of insurance provider.

In March, President Barack Obama signed into law the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014. The act reduces the recent rate increases on some policies, prevents some future rate increases and implements a surcharge on all policyholders. The act also repeals certain rate increases that have already gone into effect and provides refunds to those policyholders, according to FEMA.

The law was enacted to repeal certain provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act to limit premium increases, according to FEMA.

Brautigam said she encourages all homeowners to get flood insurance whether or not their home is located in a floodplain.

"Everybody lives in a potential flood zone no matter what the map says and everybody's home has the potential of flooding," she said. "Just because the map does not designate your property as being in a floodplain doesn't mean you don't need flood insurance."

Homeowners without flood insurance and not in a floodplain but will be in one under the new maps should get a policy before the changes take effect, Brautigam said.

Homeowners with flood insurance who are in a designated floodplain now, but will no longer be in one under the new maps, should get a new policy once their current policy expires, she said.

"If you have your flood policy prior to the changes and are located outside a floodplain, but will be in one under the new maps, you may be grandfathered in to what you have now," she said.

Harris County made countywide updates to its flood insurance rate maps in 2007, Moffett said. Tomball did not see any updates as a result of the 2007 changes, however, the Cypress Creek watershed south of Tomball was affected, she said.