Homeowners insurance rates soared 14% to a record high in 2024. But a separate report underscores how rates rose higher in some states than in others.
Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported on the metro areas with the costliest home insurance, based on data from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
The ranking was based on insurance costs as a share of monthly mortgage bills, which include mortgage principal and interest, insurance and property taxes. Based on those criteria, the metro areas with the costliest home insurance, as a share of monthly mortgage bills, are:
- New Orleans-Metairie, Louisiana: 25% of mortgage bills (including mortgage principal and interest, insurance and property taxes)
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Florida: 19%
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana: 19%
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: 18%
- Palm Bay-Melbourne, Florida: 16%
- Wichita, Kansas: 16%
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida: 16%
- Tulsa, Oklahoma; 15%
- Little Rock, Arkansas: 15%
- Jackson, Mississippi: 15%
Three Florida metros appear on the 2024 list, which should be no surprise: Florida has seen its homeowners insurance rates soar in recent years. However, the ICE Mortgage Monitor report notes that last year, Florida premiums rose by less than half the national average on a percentage basis.
The ICE report notes that a record percentage of homeowners switched policy providers in 2024 and that more borrowers are choosing higher deductibles. Both of those trends appear to be at least partially driven by homeowners hoping to reduce their insurance costs, although ICE notes that many homeowners are also switching providers due to nonrenewal.
The ICE report also found that:
- Insurance costs for mortgaged single-family homes were an average of $2,290 in 2024.
- The largest percentage increases were in Seattle (22%), Salt Lake City (22%) and Los Angeles (20%).
- The largest dollar increases were in Houston ($606) and Dallas ($515).
- Overall, average premiums for single-family homes have risen by 61% over the past five years.
While homeowners who switch providers typically end up with lower rates, that is not the case everywhere. As Andy Walden, head of mortgage and housing market research for Intercontinental Exchange, writes in a summary of the report:
“California, where insurers have been reducing their footprint due to strict regulations and rising wildfire risk, stands out as a notable exception. Borrowers who switched providers in San Diego, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Jose all paid at least 15% more, on average, than those who stayed put.”
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