Weekly Roundup: Skyrocketing Premiums, Shrinking Coverage, and a Growing Demand to Hold Big Oil Accountable
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2026
Contact: contact@insurancefairnessproject.com
Weekly Roundup: Skyrocketing Premiums, Shrinking Coverage, and a Growing Demand to Hold Big Oil Accountable
Each week, the Insurance Fairness Project highlights the latest developments in the national climate-driven property insurance crisis. For more insurance updates, follow us on LinkedIn, X/Twitter, and Bluesky.
1/ GAO REPORT SHOWS PREMIUMS ROSE 50-100% IN SOME COASTAL AREAS: New data from the U.S. General Accounting Office reinforces the connection between rising insurance premiums and extreme weather. The GAO report found that while insurance premiums increased across the country, they rose significantly more in weather-battered Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Some southern coastal regions in TX and NC saw increases of more than 50-100%, after accounting for inflation.
U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO): Homeowners Insurance: Premiums Generally Tracked Inflation but Rose More in Disaster-Prone Areas
2/ A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS ARE HAVING TROUBLE AFFORDING HOME INSURANCE: Recent Insurify data found that 57% of homeowners have made financial sacrifices to pay for homeowners insurance. 59% saw their premiums increase in 2025, 45% cut back on nonessentials like dining out to pay for insurance, and 37% reduced home maintenance and repairs.
Insurify: Insurance Premium Pressure: 57% Have Made Financial Sacrifices to Afford Home Insurance
Realtor.com: 57% of Americans Have Made Financial Sacrifices To Afford Homeowners Insurance: How To Lock In Affordable Coverage
3/ BILL TO “MAKE POLLUTERS PAY” FOR INSURANCE CRISIS GAINS TRACTION IN NEW YORK. New York lawmakers, following California and Hawaiʻi, are considering bills (SB 8585 and AB 9279) to allow the state's attorney general to sue large oil and gas companies to recover costs from severe weather disasters worsened by climate change.
New polling by Data for Progress, commissioned by the Center for Climate Integrity, says 67% of voters, including more than half of Republicans, support the proposal. Key findings:
69% say Big Oil is very/somewhat responsible for climate change
27% say rising costs have led them to research other home insurance providers or policies
68% of homeowners say their home or renters insurance bill is up this year
56% say state lawmakers should focus more on ensuring home insurance is affordable.
Center for Climate Integrity: New York voters want Big Oil to pay for rising home insurance costs
4/ COMMISSIONERS WILL COLLECT INSURANCE DATA, BUT TRANSPARENCY GAPS REMAIN: The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) announced that they will begin collecting nationwide home insurance data to better illustrate how climate change is reshaping insurance markets. The move follows a letter from 49 consumer protection, climate, and housing justice organizations asking regulators to publicly disclose critical insurance data. However, the NAIC has not committed to making the underlying data publicly available. While a public report is expected, regulators have not indicated they will release granular data despite explicit requests from advocacy groups.
Public Citizen: Insurance Commissioners Announce Plans to Collect Data on Climate-driven Insurance Crisis
“Granular and publicly available data matters now more than ever before,” said Rick Morris, senior insurance campaigner with Public Citizen’s Climate Program. “People are losing their homes and life savings due to the climate driven insurance crisis. Without publishing a robust data set, regulators risk masking the very inequities that advocates, researchers, and communities are trying to solve.”
Insurance Business: NAIC unleashes unprecedented homeowners' data call as climate pressures mount
5/ 17 MORE STATES FOLLOWING IN CO’S FOOTSTEPS ON CLIMATE RISK TRANSPARENCY AND MITIGATION: Multiple states have introduced insurance reform legislation in 2026 focused on climate resilience, consumer transparency, and offering discounts for mitigation efforts. Most of these efforts have been inspired by Colorado's HB 1182, passed in 2025. Experts call HB 1182 the most “significant property insurance law” to pass in several years.
Live Insurance News: Colorado Changed How Home Insurance Works – Now 17 More States Are Following
A similar law passed in Utah last year; here State Forester Jamie Barnes discusses what it has achieved.
6/ NEW STUDY COULD HELP CA’S RESPONSE TO THE CLIMATE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS: A new study from the California Wildfire Fund addresses the state's escalating climate affordability crisis and offers strategies to tackle the problem across several key areas such as rising energy costs, infrastructure safety, wildfire prevention, disaster recovery, and the strained insurance market.
California Wildfire Fund: SB254 – Natural Catastrophe Resiliency Study
East Bay Times: After ever-costlier California fires, new study could shape state’s response to era of ‘climate-fueled economic crisis’
The study's release is particularly timely as California residents prepare to elect a new Insurance Commissioner. At a recent forum, candidates pledged reforms and comprehensive solutions for the state's insurer of last resort (the FAIR Plan).
Resources
Insurance Fairness Project: Polling – Voters Want Their Government to Address the Property Insurance Crisis
Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project: Mapping the Home Insurance Crisis
Consumer Federation of America: Overburdened: The Dramatic Increase in Homeowners Insurance Premiums and its Impacts on American Homeowners
Brookings Institution:Homeowners insurance in an era of climate change
Consumer Federation of America and Climate and Community Institute: Penalized: The Hidden Cost of Credit Score in Homeowners Insurance Premiums
Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen: Rising Property Insurance Premiums: The Uneven Risks to Household and Systemic Financial Stability
Climate and Community Institute (CCI): Insurers of Last Resort: Why Today’s FAIR Plans Need a Redesign to Address the Home Insurance Crisis
Center for Climate Integrity: How Big Oil is Fueling the Insurance Crisis And Why State Policymakers Should Act
Dave Jones, Yale Law Journal: The Uninsurable Future: The Climate Threat to Property Insurance, and How to Stop It
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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.
