Weekly Roundup: True Cost of Coverage, CA Rate Increases, Wisconsin Waits for Disaster Aid
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2025
Contact: contact@insurancefairnessproject.com
Weekly Roundup: True Cost of Coverage, CA Rate Increases, Wisconsin Waits for Disaster Aid
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/ THE TRUE COST OF COVERAGE: New state-by-state research from Bankrate finds U.S. households spend an average of $2,470 per year on their home insurance policies, up 9% since 2023. That’s more than 3% of median household income.
Bankrate: True cost of home insurance: Extreme weather and poor credit are affordability barriers
States with highest income burden:
Louisiana median household income $58,229, average cost $6,274, 10.78% income burden.
Nebraska median household income $74,590, average insurance rate of $6,425, 8.61% income burden.
Floridia median household income $73,311, average insurance rate of $5,735, 7.82% income burden.
Newsweek: Map Shows Where Home Insurance Costs Most—and Least
"Extreme weather is widely considered to be the driving force behind many states' home-insurance crises. Weather has always been tied to home-insurance costs, but the natural disasters we're seeing now aren't the same ones as 20 or 30 years ago,” Todoroff said.
2/ CALIF. INCREASES PUT INSURANCE AT RISK FOR HOMEOWNERS: Mercury Insurance recently filed for a 6.9% rate hike, the first under the state’s new Sustainable Insurance Strategy (SIS). CSAA, the state’s fifth-largest homeowner, followed with its own 6.9% increase filing. A judge ordered that rate deliberations happen in public view, as required by law.
Newsweek: California Homeowners Are About To See Higher Insurance Premiums
We told Newsweek: "We can't rate hike our way out of the home insurance crisis because it's driven by climate change. Families shouldn't be forced to bear the burden on their own. We need serious long-term solutions from policymakers."
San Francisco Chronicle: Another major California insurer seeks to hike rates
Consumer Watchdog: Judge Denies Lara’s CDI and State Farm’s Attempt to Move Rate Case Pre-Hearings Behind Closed Doors
“This is a victory for consumers and open government,” said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog and author of Proposition 103.
Insurance Business: California judge orders open hearings, full disclosure in State Farm rate case
Additionally, the judge ordered State Farm to disclose the identities of its expert witnesses, allowing for proper evaluation of testimony. The court also granted, in part, intervenor Farren’s discovery requests to facilitate the development of relevant evidence.
3/ STATE LAWMAKERS REBUKE STATE FARM OVER FIRE CLAIMS HANDLING: Led by Assemblymember John Harabedian, Altadena-area legislators held a press conference Monday at an Altadena library. They urged Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to address alleged misconduct by insurers and to prevent any rate increases for State Farm General. The legislators stated that over six months after the January 7 fires, many fire victims are still struggling with their insurance claims.
LA Times: State Farm’s handling of fire claims draws rebuke from state lawmakers
“They are facing unavoidable hardships caused by insurance delays, denials and underpayments. These are problems that can be mitigated and solved if the right reforms are implemented immediately,” Harabedian said. “Commissioner Lara, families need your swift leadership to ensure insurance companies fulfill their legal responsibilities.”
4/ MOST CENTRAL FLORIDIANS HAVE NO FLOOD INSURANCE: With peak hurricane season nearing, only 6% of Central Florida homeowners have flood insurance. Coastal residents are typically more aware of flooding risks, but four major hurricanes in the last five years (Ian, Helene, Idalia, Milton) that caused over $60 billion in flood damage statewide significantly affected Orlando.
Orlando Sentinel: With storms getting stronger, only 6 percent of Central Floridians have flood insurance
“A lot of people — especially in Central Florida — don’t think they are at high risk for flooding because they’re not on the coast,” said Mark Friedlander, of the Insurance Information Institute, an association for insurers. “But we continue to see floods in areas where you wouldn’t expect. It floods everywhere in Florida. All 67 counties are prone to flooding. And it doesn’t have to be in hurricane season.”
5/ WISCONSIN STILL WAITING FOR FEDERAL AID AFTER HISTORIC FLOODING: Thousands of uninsured and underinsured Milwaukee-area homeowners are grappling with uncertainty about federal financial assistance following major flood damage this month.
Spectrum News: Wisconsinites still waiting for answers on federal aid after floods
“It’s been really something else,” David Michalski, with Restoration 1 of Greater Milwaukee said. “All of our teams are out. We’ve noticed a lot of our phone calls have gone longer because people will be like, ‘Well, we’re not covered.’ Then they’ll be asking us what they should do, and what we can do to help. We’ve been giving a lot of advice over the phone.”
6/ GEORGIA LAWMAKERS DISCUSS HOW TO CUT INSURANCE COSTS: Months after passing so-called “tort reform” legislation, Georgia lawmakers have established a committee to examine why insurance premiums have continued to skyrocket.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: State lawmakers discuss how to cut insurance costs for consumers in Georgia
The new law signed in April, referred to by supporters as “tort reform,” limits lawsuits and the amount of money juries can award. As a result, Kemp and his allies said insurance rates would stabilize since insurers would no longer have to pay bogus claims. [...]
However, Jason Branch, an Atlanta attorney, said other factors more significantly influence insurance rates, including population increases, inflation and more natural disasters.
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
Revolving Door Project: Trump disaster policy tracker: Timeline and Map
Consumer Federation of America and Climate and Community Institute: Penalized: The Hidden Cost of Credit Score in Homeowners Insurance Premiums
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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.
