Why Climate Change Could Affect Your Home Insurance Premiums

Climate change can impose new risks for homeowners and exacerbate existing threats. Whether you own a house, condo or other type of residence, Mother Nature can impact your coverage needs, options and costs in various ways. At Iron Rock Insurance in Apollo Beach, FL, we understand these complicated topics and will work with you to help your coverage remain current with a changing world and dynamic risks.

3 Ways Climate Change Might Impact Rates

When weather conditions change and become more unpredictable or volatile, it can have dire ramifications for you, your family and your property. Studies have shown increasing natural disaster frequency in recent years, including particularly devastating hurricanes and wildfires. By understanding how these conditions can affect your premiums, you might be better prepared to budget appropriately and maintain ideal coverage. Consider the following ways climate change might affect your costs:

• Increased claims costs—Insurance companies must account for their own rising costs. As hurricanes and wildfires have inflicted record losses, carriers may need to increase rates even if you haven’t filed a claim to recoup their own costs.

• Heightened risk levels—If you live in an area at moderate or high risk of being impacted by climate change, you might need to pay more for coverage. For example, homeowners in the Sunshine State are often likely to experience damage caused by windstorms. Since Florida requires home insurance carriers to offer wind coverage in standard policies, this might end up increasing your rates.

• Fewer coverage options—In some cases, home insurance carriers may start to exit high-risk markets altogether. In such situations, fewer options on the market may mean higher premiums. Additionally, some carriers might start excluding specific perils, such as wildfires, necessitating alternative policies or endorsements and, subsequently, increasing total costs.

We’re Here to Help

Contact Iron Rock Insurance today to learn more about climate change and its impact on home insurance or compare personalized quotes.

This blog is intended for informational and educational use only. It is not exhaustive and should not be construed as legal advice. Please contact your insurance professional for further information.