Majority of Young Homeowners Expect Their Homes to Be Damaged by Extreme Weather in Next 30 Years

Young homeowners are more concerned about the damage climate change-related extreme weather could do to their homes, according to a new survey from Policygenius.

The survey found that 72 percent of young insured homeowners (age 18 to 34) believe it is very or somewhat likely that their homes will be damaged by extreme weather in the next 30 years compared to 45 percent of all adult homeowners. And 64 percent of young homeowners believe they will end up moving due to climate change-related extreme weather in the next 30 years compared to 27 percent of all homeowners.

“As natural disasters continue to worsen due to climate change, it’s understandable if younger homeowners are wary of the future. In 2021, there were 20 climate disasters in the U.S. that each caused over $1 billion in damage. This included the unprecedented cold wave in Texas that left many homes without power and Colorado’s Marshall Fire, which destroyed an entire community,” said Pat Howard, a licensed property and casualty insurance expert at Policygenius. “But there are multiple things you can do to protect your family and financial future, including checking to see if you have enough home or flood insurance coverage.”

The Policygenius 2022 Climate Change Survey also found that:

31 percent of insured homeowners have already sustained home damage from a hurricane, tornado, wildfire, flood or other extreme weather event.
33 percent of homeowners either don’t believe they have enough insurance for a full rebuild of their homes or aren’t sure if they do.
Just 21 percent of homeowners have purchased flood insurance.

Policygenius commissioned YouGov to poll 1,348 insured American homeowners 18 or older. YouGov conducted this survey online from May 13 to May 17, 2022. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all U.S. adults (aged 18+).

Photo: Nathan Fabre checks on his home and boat destroyed by Hurricane Ida, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021, in Lafitte, La. “We lost everything,” said Fabre about the destruction of his home. (AP Photo/John Locher)