Weekly Roundup: Home Insurance Costs Keep Soaring — And Credit Scores Are A “Hidden Factor”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2026
Contact: contact@insurancefairnessproject.com
Weekly Roundup: Home Insurance Costs Keep Soaring — And Credit Scores Are A “Hidden Factor”
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/ HOMEOWNERS CALL FOR EXTREME MEASURES: U.S. homeowners are increasingly desperate over rising insurance costs, with many backing solutions such as government intervention. A recent Insurify survey shows 45% want home insurance to be optional for mortgaged properties, 48% support capping annual premium increases, and 24% favor nationalizing the entire insurance industry.
Bloomberg: The Insurance Crisis Is So Desperate People Are Turning Socialist
We could make this problem more manageable for everybody by helping homeowners and communities bolster themselves against disasters, limiting future losses. And we could hasten the transition away from the fossil fuels that are heating the planet. Unfortunately, the Trump administration is aggressively thwarting both solutions.
2/ NYT INVESTIGATION SPOTLIGHTS CREDIT SCORES AS “HIDDEN FACTOR” IN HOME INSURANCE COSTS: This week, the New York Times published a new investigation spotlighting the “hidden role” of personal credit scores in the country’s ongoing home insurance crisis. It showed credit scores play a bigger role than disaster risk in setting rates in the states that allow insurers to use credit scores in their pricing formulas — which has disproportionate impact on low-income people and people of color, per research from Americans for Financial Reform.
The New York Times: The Hidden Factor Behind Your Home Insurance Cost: Your Credit History
“When the government and the financial system mandate that we buy a product, there’s a special obligation to make sure the pricing is fair,” said Doug Heller, director of insurance at the Consumer Federation. “To me that is an absolutely solid reason, just like we don’t allow pricing based on race or income or ethnicity or religion.”
A joint report by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Climate and Community Institute (CCI), which also used data from the National Bureau of Economic Research and Quadrant Information Services (like the Times reporting), found that homeowners with low credit scores pay an average of $1,996 more annually than those with high credit scores for the same insurance coverage.
3/ CA CONSUMERS TO SAVE ~$530M: A new settlement announced by Consumer Watchdog will save California State Farm policyholders approximately $530 million. The agreement cuts rate increases, provides some policyholders refunds with interest, and restricts non-renewals. Consumer Watchdog has also endorsed several other California consumer protection legislative proposals.
“State Farm originally sought staggeringly massive increases that were not supported by the data,” said Consumer Watchdog Litigation Director William Pletcher. “This settlement substantially reduces those requests, secures refunds for some policyholders, and includes additional protections affecting non-renewals, claims oversight, and future rate review.”
Los Angeles Daily News: State Farm rate hike stands at 17% for California homeowners after settlement with state
Cal Matters: Some State Farm customers could see refunds while homeowner rate hikes stay put
San Francisco Chronicle: State Farm settles California home insurance rate request; some customers will get refunds
4/ NEW REPORT ON COLORADO’S HOME INSURANCE CRISIS: The Insurance Fairness Project released a new report on Colorado’s home insurance crisis, showing how rapidly rising Colorado insurance costs are outpacing national trends, putting pressure on household budgets, and pricing some homeowners out of protection entirely.
PropertyCasualty360: Colorado insurance reform efforts could help other states
"Colorado enacted the most important insurance law to pass last year, which requires the models used by insurers to take into account property, community, and landscape scale mitigation, for both pricing and underwriting — the decision whether to write or renew insurance," said Dave Jones, California's former insurance commissioner and current director of the Climate Risk Initiative at UC Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. "More states should do the same…."
Insurance Fairness Project: NEW REPORT: Colorado Communities Are Priced Out of Disaster Protection as State’s Affordability Crisis Intensifies
Earlier this week, the Insurance Fairness Project also hosted a press call featuring legislators, experts, and consumer advocates. The panelists discussed how climate-driven risks have led to rising premiums that are straining Coloradans’ housing budgets. To watch a recording of the panel, click here.
5/ NEW BLOG EXPLAINS HOW STATES CAN TACKLE THE INSURANCE CRISIS: A new blog post written by Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) Alfonso Pating lays out how state regulators can restore the reliability of our insurance safety net — by combining stronger oversight of the insurance market with effective risk-reduction programs and improved last-resort insurance options.
NRDC: Homeowners Can’t Count on Insurance. States Can Help.
And as climate disasters intensify, homeowners are watching the insurance market deteriorate further. But state insurance regulators can play a far more proactive role in making insurance reliable again—available year after year, understandable up front, and dependable at claim time.
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
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.
