The Blubber

Utah saw the steepest surge in homeowners insurance premiums, jumping 59%—from an average of $1,126 in 2021 to $1,795 just four years later. According to Utah Insurance Commissioner Jon Pike, the main drivers are more homes being built in wildfire-prone areas and a historically underpriced insurance market finally catching up with inflation.

The top five states with the biggest increases in premiums were:

• Utah: +59%
• Illinois: +50%
• Arizona: +48%
• Pennsylvania: +44%
• Nebraska: +35%

“The skyrocketing price of insurance premiums is deepening the housing crisis … and homeowners across the country are feeling the strain,” said Sharon Cornelissen, Director of Housing at the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), in a statement.

The findings are based on a CFA analysis of data from Quadrant Information Services, which collected rate information from over 100 insurance providers across nearly every ZIP code. The sample profile used: a homeowner with a mid-range credit score insuring a home with a $350,000 replacement value.

Only three states saw average premiums either decline or stay the same:

• West Virginia: -24%
• Mississippi: -15%
• Wyoming: No change

The CFA identified the most expensive states for homeowners insurance in 2024 as Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Nebraska. In Florida, for instance, a homeowner with fair credit and $350,000 in dwelling coverage is now paying an average of $9,462 a year—or $789 per month—up nearly 30% from $7,344 in 2021.

According to the CFA, several major factors are fueling the sharp rise in premiums:

• Climate change: Increasing damage from wildfires, flooding, and extreme weather events
• Inflation: Higher labor and material costs are making homes more expensive to repair and rebuild
• Reinsurance pressures: Rising reinsurance rates are being passed on to consumers
• Weak regulatory oversight: State insurance regulators have given companies greater flexibility to hike rates