Hurricane Season Promises To Be Chaotic, Destructive, and More Expensive Than Ever
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2025
Contact: contact@insurancefairnessproject.com
Weekly Roundup: Hurricane Season Promises To Be Chaotic, Destructive, and More Expensive Than Ever
Each week, the Insurance Fairness Project highlights the latest developments in the national climate-driven property insurance crisis.
THIS WEEK IN SHORT: The official start of hurricane season has states bracing for more damage and slower recovery, as more Americans than ever are struggling to get or afford insurance and federal disaster response is cut back. Insurers are finding it harder to track risk amid the climate chaos. And the costs to homeowners keep climbing, with new rate hikes in several states.
HURRICANE SEASON SPOTLIGHT: A new Insurance Fairness Project report explains that with hurricane season now underway, the insurance crisis is poised to escalate and made worse by a dismantled federal disaster response system that’s already failing disaster survivors.
> HURRICANE ALERT: This year’s hurricane season won’t just be very active; affected communities will also face a weakened early warning system and a less robust federal disaster response.
> UNPROTECTED: New reporting underscores that as rising premiums are making insurance even more unaffordable, more homeowners are going without coverage.
> BROKEN RISK MODELS: Chaos and federal data cutbacks are leaving insurers increasingly unable to forecast risk accurately, and some may be hiding this from policyholders.
> HOMEOWNERS PAY THE PRICE: With another round of rate hikes on the way, it’s going to be harder than ever for homeowners to protect themselves..
MORE DETAILS:
1/ The federal government’s emergency response and early warning agencies are in shambles, and that’s bad news for people in hurricane zones.
Vox: Hurricane season is here. NOAA is in shambles. What could go wrong?
Reuters: FEMA staff confused after head said he was unaware of US hurricane season, sources say
The Washington Post: Trump administration races to fix a big mistake: DOGE fired too many people
The Guardian: ‘Flying blind’: Florida weatherman tells viewers Trump cuts will harm forecasts
2/ As insurance costs rise, more homeowners have no choice but to go without coverage.
“When asked why they didn’t have homeowners insurance, 43% said they “couldn’t afford it”, while another 19% said “it is not worth the cost.” And respondents with fewer financial resources were among the most likely to go without insurance. Roughly 3 in 10 homeowners with incomes of less than $25,000 or those whose only asset was their home went without.”
3/ Climate change and federal agency cuts could mean less accurate risk modeling and pricing, with some insurers being accused of leaving policyholders chronically underinsured.
The New Republic: Trump Is Going to Raise Your Insurance Premiums
“Federal climate data helps insurance companies determine how much to charge homeowners for new or renewed policies. The system by which all that data gets translated onto balance sheets and monthly bills was already flawed, lacking adequate accountability and coordination. As the White House declares war on climate policy, it could break down entirely.”
San Francisco Chronicle: Three major California insurers accused of systematically underinsuring L.A. fire survivors in new lawsuits
“A pair of new lawsuits accuse three of California’s largest insurance companies of “systematically” underinsuring homeowners via flawed cost estimation software, leaving survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires unable to rebuild. [. . .]
“They allege the three companies knowingly insured homeowners for far less than the rebuild value of their homes through their use of computer programs they’d known for decades were faulty, making it difficult if not impossible for those homeowners to rebuild.”
Inside Climate News: For Insurers, Smaller Weather Events Add Up to Big Losses as Climate Change Accelerates
“But it’s not just “the big ones” that are worsening as global temperatures warm. Research shows that more day-to-day weather events like thunderstorms, wildfires, droughts and hail are becoming more severe and, in some cases, more frequent.
“In the insurance industry, these small- to mid-sized weather events are known as “secondary perils,” which are typically more localized and harder to predict than larger events. In recent years, these secondary perils have become a primary concern, a paradigm shift that could have broad implications for insurers and consumers alike.”
4/ Homeowners are still bearing the brunt of the crisis through higher rates, coverage cutbacks, and underinsurance.
“Beginning Sunday, the average North Carolinian will pay roughly $243 more per year after a 7.5% statewide base‑rate increase takes effect. While far less than the 42.2% jump the North Carolina Rate Bureau initially requested, the hike lands hard on families still rebuilding from Helene and other costly storms.”
ABC News San Diego: State Farm customers across California brace for insurance rate hike
Boise State Public Radio: Losing coverage: Mountain West homeowners face an insurance crisis
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Almost 30K Nevadans to see homeowners insurance increase
HousingWire:Homeowners face soaring insurance rates amid climate disasters, tariffs
Resources
Insurance Fairness Project and Data For Progress: Polling – Voters Want Their Government to Address the Property Insurance Crisis
78% of voters are concerned about rising property insurance prices, with 40% saying they are “very concerned”
Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project: Mapping the Home Insurance Crisis
New interactive maps reveal the widespread nature of the U.S. home insurance crisis with seven metrics of availability and affordability.
Consumer Federation of America: Overburdened
The Dramatic Increase in Homeowners Insurance Premiums and its Impacts on American Homeowners
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The Insurance Fairness Project is an information hub dedicated to offering insights into the home insurance crisis, exploring its drivers and highlighting solutions alongside issue experts and community advocates.
