A Government Accountability Office report released this spring found that average U.S. homeowners insurance premiums rose about 3% in real terms between 2019 and 2024 — roughly tracking inflation nationally. But that average hides sharp regional differences: premiums in some southern coastal areas climbed 25% or more over the same period, with parts of North Carolina and Texas seeing real increases above 50%.
The report's most striking finding may be which risk actually moves premiums most. Homes in areas with severe or extreme wind risk carried premiums about 58% higher, on average, than similar homes in the next-lower risk tier — roughly $1,294 more per year. By comparison, moving from major to severe/extreme wildfire risk was associated with only an 8% premium increase, or about $181 annually. In other words, the disaster getting the most media attention (wildfire) is not the one moving homeowners premiums the hardest at the top of the risk scale — wind is.
The GAO also flagged availability, not just price, as a growing problem: in some high-risk states, regulators are taking close to a year to approve insurer rate change requests, a lag that can leave both insurers and homeowners in limbo. Insurers, regulators, and consumer advocates interviewed for the report generally supported tax incentives for disaster-resistant home upgrades as one lever to improve affordability over time.
If you're a homeowner, this is a good prompt to revisit your policy's wind and named-storm deductibles specifically, not just your overall coverage limit — our Dwelling Coverage glossary entry breaks down what's actually protected.
- U.S. Government Accountability Office, Homeowners Insurance: Premiums Generally Tracked Inflation but Rose More in Disaster-Prone Areas (GAO-26-107867)
- Insurance Journal, GAO: Wind Risk Linked to Larger Insurance Premium Jumps Than Wildfire