Experts Link Climate Change to Home Insurance Costs, But Many Homeowners Don’t See the Connection

Most homeowners do not think climate change is driving higher home insurance prices, or they are unsure whether the two are connected, according to Insurance.com’s 2026 Insurance and Climate Change survey. The poll found that 43% believe climate change is affecting the home insurance market, while 32% say it is not and 25% are unsure. Among those who have faced a rate increase, fewer than half — 41% — link it to climate risk.

Experts, though, say the relationship is clear. A 2024 Congressional Budget Office report said climate change is putting pressure on insurers’ finances and contributing to higher rates. A 2025 U.S. Department of the Treasury Federal Insurance Office report likewise found that homeowners in areas exposed to severe weather are paying more as insurers respond to climate-related costs.

At the same time, most homeowners are not raising their coverage to match higher rebuilding costs. The survey found that 69% have made no changes to their policy limits. Rex Frazier, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, said rising costs are a major reason people avoid buying more coverage.

“People are still making the individual economically rational decision for how much insurance they can afford,” he said. “People are more likely to buy the amount they need that is required for their mortgage. But are they really going to buy more? There's every reason to think, no, they're not going to survey that local market, see these big contractor costs.”

Cost pressure is not limited to premiums. According to consumer advocacy group United Policyholders, insurers are also shifting more expense to homeowners through weather-related deductibles, especially for hail and windstorms.

Quick Coverage:

• 43% of surveyed homeowners think climate change is affecting the home insurance market in their area.
• 32% of those who shopped for home insurance recently felt that weather or natural disaster risk has made it harder to find coverage.
• 9% of homeowners have increased their coverage levels, while 11% have added additional coverage, either flood or windstorm.
• 41% of those who saw a rate increase in the past year believe it’s climate change-related.

Do homeowners believe climate change is affecting the home insurance market?

Some homeowners do see a link, but they are in the minority. Only 43% say climate change is affecting home insurance in their area. Another 32% say it is not, and 25% are unsure.

More than half of homeowners either do not see a connection between climate change and their insurance costs or are not sure one exists. That uncertainty may reflect how difficult it is for policyholders to see the factors insurers use to set premiums.

Climate and weather risk can influence pricing in several ways. Insurers rely on catastrophe models to estimate the likelihood and cost of future disasters, while claims history shows what they have already paid for losses. Reinsurance, which insurers buy to help cover large-scale losses, is another factor. Changes in any of these costs can push premiums higher even when the reason is not obvious to the policyholder.

Is it harder to get home insurance because of natural disaster risk?

While 49% of respondents said weather-related risks have not made it harder to get home insurance, 23% said it has become harder to find suitable coverage.

When homeowners who have not shopped recently are excluded, the picture shifts: among the 72% who did shop, about 32% said they had trouble finding coverage, while 68% did not.

Insurers can become more restrictive in high-risk areas by declining renewals, pausing new business, tightening underwriting standards, or raising deductibles.

The survey found especially sharp problems in Florida and California. Among homeowners who recently shopped for coverage, 61% in Florida and 57% in California said it has become harder to get coverage, more than double the share in the rest of the country, at 24%. In Insurance.com’s 2026 Insurance Sentiment Survey, 19% of Florida homeowners and 15% of California homeowners said their policies were canceled or not renewed, compared with 8% elsewhere. The most common reasons were the insurer leaving the area and the home being in a high-risk location.

If your insurer does not renew your homeowners policy, compare quotes from other carriers. If private coverage is unavailable, contact your state insurance department to ask whether a state-backed program is available as a last resort.

Are home insurance rates rising, and is climate the cause?

Homeowners insurance prices are rising nationwide, with Insurance.com data showing a national average of $2,872 per year. Experts say more frequent and severe weather is part of the pressure, but homeowners do not always view it that way. The survey found that 63% of homeowners saw their rates increase, yet they do not agree on whether climate and weather were the reasons.

California homeowners are more likely than others to connect price increases with climate, with 55% saying weather is tied to their higher rates.

• 33% of California homeowners did not see a rate increase in the last year.
• 32% saw a rate increase, but don’t attribute it to climate.
• 36% saw a rate increase and believe climate and weather contributed to the rates.

In the 2026 Insurance Sentiment Survey, most homeowners who saw higher premiums said the increases were modest. Among those whose rates went up, 56% said the increase was under 10%, while 10% reported an increase of 25% or more.

Many homeowners point to other causes, including inflation, higher construction and repair costs, litigation, reinsurance expenses, and more frequent claims. Even when the increase is the same, people may interpret its cause differently.

Are homeowners adding coverage for natural disasters?

Despite major losses from storms, wildfires, and other disasters in recent years, most homeowners surveyed — 69% — have not changed their coverage. Of those surveyed, 10% said cost kept them from increasing coverage. Among those who did make changes, 9% raised their coverage limits, 7% added flood insurance, and 4% added windstorm insurance.

The findings suggest a gap between rising weather risks and homeowner behavior. Even when people are worried about severe weather, the price of extra protection may keep them from adjusting their policies.

Homeowners in high-risk areas may also face coverage gaps that need attention. Standard homeowners policies do not cover flood damage, and some regions use separate wind or hail deductibles. In those places, homeowners may need to buy additional coverage and prepare for higher out-of-pocket costs.

For example, in Insurance.com’s 2026 Insurance Sentiment Survey, 7% of homeowners said they added flood insurance as disaster risk rose. Cost remains a barrier for some: 4% said they canceled a flood policy because they could not afford it.

Is disaster risk driving homeowners to a FAIR plan or insurer of last resort?

In some places, yes. California’s FAIR Plan has seen policies triple since 2020. The survey found that 11% of homeowners said higher disaster risk in their area pushed them to use a state-backed insurer.

A FAIR plan, or insurer of last resort, is a state-backed or state-mandated pool that provides basic coverage when private insurers will not. These plans usually offer more limited protection than standard homeowners policies and can be more expensive. Rules on availability, coverage, and eligibility vary by state.

In Florida, Citizens Property Insurance, the state insurer of last resort, has seen its policy count fall sharply, down 76% since 2023. Legislative changes and a calmer hurricane season in 2025 have helped drive that decline.

Frazier said the bigger problem is not access to coverage, but whether homeowners can afford it.

“Availability is not the issue. It's affordability. And affordability is driven by a bunch of different factors, including these reconstruction costs that have gone up just dramatically in the last several years,” he said.

Affordability is especially important in Florida, where Insurance.com data show an average annual premium of $8,471.

Increased costs for homeowners: Weather-specific deductibles

Higher premiums are not the only way insurers are transferring rising costs to homeowners. In many states, weather-specific deductibles are used as a risk-management tool. Windstorm deductibles are in place in 19 states and often apply to named storms such as hurricanes and tropical storms, though they can also apply to tornadoes. As hail damage becomes more common nationwide, many insurers have also added hail deductibles.

These deductibles apply to damage from the specific peril and are often based on a percentage of the home’s coverage limit. For example, a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage and a 5% hail deductible would leave the homeowner with a $15,000 bill after hail damage.

The survey found that 7% of respondents had a hail deductible added to their policy. More concerning, 21% said they were not sure whether a peril-specific deductible had been added, creating the risk of a costly surprise when filing a claim.

What should homeowners do about the impact of climate risk on insurance?

Homeowners cannot control climate risk, but they can limit their financial exposure by reviewing coverage and understanding local hazards. To help control costs, compare homeowners insurance quotes every year and ask about available discounts.

Action steps include:

• Review policy exclusions for flood, wind, and wildfire.
• Compare homeowners insurance quotes annually.
• Ask about mitigation discounts, such as roof upgrades or storm shutters.
• Check the deductible structure for wind and hail.
• Understand what FAIR plans offer before a non-renewal happens.

Survey methodology

Insurance.com surveyed 1,252 insured homeowners in the fall of 2026 about how they perceive climate change's impact on homeowners insurance rates and availability. Market research company Dynata conducted the survey.