Real Estate Industry News

Natural disasters have been on the rise in the last decade, and according to a new analysis, it’s sending home insurance rates through the roof.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, 2018 saw 850 “natural catastrophes” across the world—a jump from 740 in 2017 and just 500 a decade earlier. The disasters have racked up damages to the tune of $350 billion in some years—and those were just the insured losses.

As insurance companies struggle to keep up with these ever-rising costs, homeowners are seeing steep increases in rates—particularly in more disaster-prone parts of the country. In fact, according to a new analysis from insurance comparison site QuoteWizard, Oklahomans have seen their home insurance rates jump a whopping 78% (or $821) since 2007 alone.

The average Oklahoma homeowner now pays over $1,800 for their annual premium, up from just $1,054 a decade ago.

It’s no surprise considering the number of natural disasters the state has seen in recent years. According to FEMA, Oklahoma saw 192 natural disasters since 1955. The only state to experience more? That’d be wildfire-ridden California, which has seen a massive 313 disasters over the same time period.

Surprisingly, California homeowners haven’t seen their insurance rise in step (the state actually claims the second-smallest increase in the nation, with a hike of just $75 since 2007). Instead, other states in Tornado Alley—namely Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska—are getting hit the hardest. 

In Colorado, rates have jumped 75%, and in Nebraska, they’ve jumped 74%. Over in Kansas, homeowners are now paying $644 more per year. 

Home insurance premiums have increased in all 50 states, according to QuoteWizard. Here where premiums have increased the most since 2007: