A record jump in the average payout per claim last year is repricing coverage nationwide: the typical U.S. homeowner paid 12% more in 2025, and Insurify expects rates to climb another 4% by December 2026, taking the annual average to $3,057.
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Home insurance claims cost 26% more as premiums hit $3,057
Insurers paid out far more per claim in 2025 than at any point on record, and the bill is landing on renewal notices even for homeowners with a spotless claims history, according to LexisNexis Risk Solutions' July 2026 home trends study.
"U.S. home insurers continue to face increasing pressure and uncertainty as they contend with a 'perfect storm' of rising severity, rising inflation-driven replacement costs, and a reshaping of loss patterns in the face of shifting climate-driven catastrophes," George Hosfield, vice president and general manager of home insurance at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said in a press release.
Claim severity — the industry term for the average payout per claim — climbed almost 26% year over year and has risen more than 93% since 2019. Total claim counts fell almost 24% between 2024 and 2025, extending a decline that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fewer claims are being filed, but each one costs more, and insurers pass that arithmetic into rate filings.
The national average premium rose 12% in 2025, according to comparison platform Insurify, which projects a further 4% increase by the end of 2026 that would lift the average annual cost to $3,057. The gap between expensive and cheap states widened: premiums in the 25 costliest states for home insurance rose about 14%, roughly three times the 5% gain in the 25 cheapest.
Fire and water drive the bill, wind and hail pull it down
Perils are not moving together. Fire and lightning loss costs jumped nearly 77%, driven mainly by the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles County, which caused about $61.2 billion in damage and rank as the most expensive wildfires in U.S. history. Non-weather water damage severity rose 63% between 2019 and 2025, which LexisNexis attributes mostly to inflation and higher material and labor costs; older homes with aging plumbing absorb the worst of it. Liability claim costs added 13% last year, which the report links to higher litigation costs and larger physical damage payouts.
Wind loss costs fell 50% from 2024 to 2025, and hail loss costs dropped 38% from their 2023 peak. That split explains why some policyholders in the Great Plains and Midwest saw relief while coastal and wildfire-exposed markets did not.
The macro backdrop reinforces the trend. The U.S. recorded 23 separate climate disasters exceeding $1 billion in damage last year, totaling $115 billion — the third-highest on record, per Climate Central — with the Los Angeles fires accounting for more than half. In the first half of 2026 alone, 12 billion-dollar weather and climate events caused nearly $32 billion in damage, including eight severe storms, two winter storms, a damaging Florida freeze and major flooding in Hawaii. Peak hurricane season still lies ahead.
Why a clean claims record no longer protects a renewal
Insurers price regional averages for wildfire, water, wind and liability risk, not an individual policy's history. When the regional average rises, every policy in that region can be repriced at renewal. A claims-free homeowner in a repriced ZIP code is not insulated from the increase.
The dispersion is stark. For a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage, a $1,000 deductible, good credit and no prior claims, the average annual premium runs $6,504 in Florida, $4,704 in Texas and $2,004 in California, according to Insurify data. Florida's premium reflects hurricane exposure and elevated legal costs.
For homeowners preparing 2027 coverage, the practical levers are deductible math, mitigation and comparison shopping. A repair costing only a few hundred dollars more than the deductible can raise the premium at renewal by more than it recovers, so the file-or-pay decision deserves a calculation rather than a reflex. In storm-prone markets, home-hardening improvements can qualify for discounts with some carriers. Because insurers price identical risks differently, gathering quotes from several companies before accepting a renewal notice is the most direct way to cut the bill.
The signal for policyholders is that severity, not personal claims history, now sets the renewal baseline, and the 4% projected increase through year-end 2026 implies another round of notices before 2027 policies take effect. The next data points to watch are the next home trends update and state insurance department rate filings for the first quarter of 2027.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
