Homeowner’s insurance premiums vary widely from state to state, but they are all going up

But some other states have it even worse

Experts say increasingly severe storms and other disasters, combined with rising housing costs, are pushing rates higher

CNBC considers insurance premiums, and the amount they are increasing, as metrics in this year’s America’s Top States for study

But every so often, there are small signs of rebirth, from a perty owner cleaning up their lot, or workers repairing a that was merely damaged

Occasionally, one can even see s being rebuilt — the owner having navigated the complicated permitting cess, and, crucially, having managed to obtain insurance. "The situation in insurance has actually been remarkably stable, considering everything that happened," said Scott Wilk, an independent insurance agent and owner of the Santa Clarita, California, branch of TWFG Insurance

That is not to say that premiums are not surging after the wildfires

The online marketplace Insurify jects California premiums will rise 21% this year, even in areas that are far from Los Angeles, in what experts had predicted would be a year of only modest increases in the state. "An event that in California just has a really significant impact on how much we ject premiums to go up," said Chase Gardner, data insights manager at Insurify

He added that when insurance companies "are paying out more than they're bringing in premiums, the more that goes up, the more they need to raise prices. "Drone image of the Alphabet streets neighborhood in Pacific Palisades destroyed in the Palisades fire

Photographed on Tuesday, Jan

California's increase is not even the largest

Nor is the phenomenon limited to coastal states

Iowa and Minnesota are also looking at double-digit increases. "It's not just a story for areas coastal Florida or the wildfire ne parts of California

It's really a much more national story," said Benjamin Keys, a fessor of real estate and finance at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "We're seeing states Vermont with rising costs related to recent floods

We're seeing states Colorado, which historically was a middle of the pack state when it came to the cost of insurance, seeing rapidly increasing insurance costs due to recent wildfires, and increased hail storms in many parts of the Midwest. "Insurance premiums are regulated state by state, so in theory, a company can't use a disaster in one state to justify a rate increase in another

But in practice, experts say, there is a ripple effect as companies try to balance their risk by more aggressively seeking premium increases in some states, and by reducing their exposure in others by not renewing policies. "These insurance companies are national companies, and this could affect things their overall book of," Gardner said. "Even if they're fitable in ten states, if they're really unfitable in one state, that can impact how they think and how they think acquiring new customers. "Premiums vary widely from state to state, with Florida's the highest at $15,460 on average as jected by Insurify, though increases in the state appear to have moderated after the state adopted a series of reforms

Companies deciding where to locate or expand frequently consider the cost of living for spective employees

So, CNBC is using Insurify data on premiums and jected increases as components of the Cost of Living category in this year's America's Top States for study. " insurance is just becoming a bigger and bigger chunk of people's monthly housing payments," Gardner said. "I think it's kind of really eating into the idea of ownership being a really stable, cost-capped long term bet, especially if you in a state Florida or California, or even Texas. "Experts expect the increases to continue as storms and other natural disasters become more severe, and values and replacement costs continue to rise

Wilk said that while the worst of the crisis in California may be over, there is more sticker shock to come. "There's a very long cess for a rate change to get through

Sometimes it can take between 12 to 36 months," he said

Wilk said that there are still affordable options, relatively speaking, from smaller carriers in California, or from so-called "non-admitted" firms that can sell policies to California owners independent of the state regulators

He said that many of his clients are happy just to be able to get insurance. "Early on in my career, pre-insurance crisis, if I had a customer's rate go up by five bucks a month, I could be hearing it and hearing complaints it," he said. "Now, people are just excited when their policy renews and it's still in force. "watch nowwatch now03:36America's Top States for 2025: Rising insurance costswatch nowwatch now02:02The Chinese electric truck maker bringing its big rig EV manufacturing to the U

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