Weekly Roundup: As Climate-Driven Insurance Costs Mount Nationwide, Voters Want Reforms
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2026
Contact: contact@insurancefairnessproject.com
Weekly Roundup: As Climate-Driven Insurance Costs Mount Nationwide, Voters Want Reforms
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/ NEW POLLING SHOWS HUGE MAJORITY OF CALIFORNIANS WANT INSURANCE REFORMS: A new poll of California voters conducted by Public Policy Polling and commissioned by the Insurance Fairness Project reveals voters are alarmed by the rising cost of home insurance, deeply skeptical about the state’s disaster preparedness, and strongly in favor of reforms.
Insurance Fairness Project: New Poll: California Voters Concerned with Home Insurance – and Strongly Support Reform Measures
Key Findings:
90% of voters are concerned with the cost of home insurance – with 62% of voters very concerned
79% lack confidence in the California insurance system’s ability to handle another weather disaster on the scale of the 2025 fires
48% disapprove of outgoing Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s handling of insurance rate hikes and claim denials following the L.A. fires
63% agree with expert warnings that without safeguards, instability in the insurance sector could lead to a 2008-style financial crisis, with over a third strongly agreeing.
Voters are preparing to choose one of a dozen candidates to replace outgoing Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. This high-stakes contest will influence rate regulation, consumer protections, mitigation and resiliency investments, risk modeling, and other aspects of the state’s response to the insurance crisis.
2/ CLIMATE CHANGE COULD BE COSTING YOU MORE THAN $1,300 A YEAR: A recent report from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found that climate change now costs the average American household $900 each year. In 10% of U.S. counties, the cost exceeds $1,300. The study includes “cost increases associated with home insurance claims.”
WBUR: $900 a year: That's how much climate change costs the average US household
Our research offers several lessons for policymakers. Foremost, climate inaction is an affordability issue. For example, when home insurance premiums spike, or home insurance simply becomes unaffordable, that drives up economy-wide housing costs, exacerbating the financial stress of U.S. households.
3/ NATURAL CATASTROPHE RESILIENCY STUDY: The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) released a new report this week calling for major reforms to the state's electric utility and property insurance sectors. But consumer advocates argue it falls short of addressing the most consequential and politically popular solutions.
Consumer Watchdog: Consumer Watchdog Says CEA Report Fails To Evaluate Viable And Popular Options To Deal With Wildfire Crisis
“Fossil fuel companies contributed to the climate-driven extreme weather that has made wildfires worse, yet our recommendations for making the fossil fuel industry pay their fair share were ignored. A bill allowing the attorney general to recover from fossil fuel companies, SB 982 (Wiener), is being considered this month in Sacramento. 72% of voters believe companies that produce planet-warming pollution should have to pitch in, according to a new poll.”
4/ NEWS FROM THE STATES
Colorado: Lawmakers are making another attempt to pass a bill that would place a fee (0.5%) on home insurance carriers to finance hail mitigation projects. This new proposal follows the rejection of similar legislation from last year. In March, the Insurance Fairness Project released a new report on Colorado’s accelerating home insurance crisis and hosted a call where panelists discussed policy solutions.
Minnesota: A recent Insurify report ranked Minnesota among the top 10 most expensive states for home insurance. Minnesota is projected to see a 3.5% increase in the average cost of home insurance in 2026, following a 34% increase between 2024 and 2025. The Minnesota legislature is also aiming to finally fund its home hardening program.
Rhode Island: New reporting highlights how insurers “profit off pollution” and then pass the costs onto Rhode Island consumers.
Iowa: According to a LendingTree report, Iowans experienced a 96% increase in insurance premiums between 2020 and 2025. This rise was four times the rate of inflation in Iowa for the same period, which was 26.7%.
5/ TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SLASHING FUNDS FOREST SERVICE AHEAD OF FIRE SEASON: The administration's 2027 budget proposal aims to slash funding still further for energy and environment programs, including cutting $15 billion from clean energy initiatives and a nearly 50% cut in the EPA budget.
Also this week, the White House announced it would be essentially dismantling the U.S. Forest Service, closing local offices and research facilities across the country — just as the nation approaches one of the most dangerous wildfire seasons in recorded history.
“It’s just an out-of-touch plea for more money for guns and bombs, and less for the things people need, like housing, healthcare, education, roads, scientific research, and environmental protection,” read a statement from Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the budget committee.
Bill McKibben in The New Yorker: The Forest Service — a Force Across Rural America — “Reorganizes” Under Trump
The possibility—the probability—of conflagration is on every Western mind. It turns out that conservation really does matter: when you burn too much oil, draw too much water, cut too many trees, you eventually end up in enormous trouble.
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.
