Nationwide, one-third of homeowners who lost insurance have moved or plan to move, but nearly the same share are staying in their home with little or no coverage, a new survey found.
Nearly three-quarters (70.3 percent) of Florida homeowners and over half (51 percent) of California homeowners say they or the area they live in has been affected by rising home insurance costs or changes in coverage (e.g., their insurer dropped them) in the past year.
That compares with less than half (44.6 percent) of homeowners nationwide, according to a new report from online real estate broker Redfin.
Mounting insurance costs and natural disasters are prompting some people to relocate, Redfin found.
In Florida, 11.9 percent of survey respondents planning to move in the next year cited rising insurance costs as a reason—roughly twice the national share of 6.2 percent.
In California, 13.1 percent of people who intend to relocate in the coming year cited concern for natural disasters or climate risks as a reason, compared with 8.8 percent of respondents nationwide.
While some people are leaving disaster-prone areas, there are still more people moving in than out, a separate Redfin analysis found.
“Homeowners living in areas where insurance premiums are surging are at risk of seeing their properties gain less value than homeowners in areas with stable premiums—and in some cases, they may even lose money,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “Homes with low disaster risk and low insurance costs will likely become increasingly popular, and thus more valuable, as the dangers of climate change intensify.”
Redfin asked homeowners who said they or their area has or may have been impacted by rising home insurance costs or changes in coverage in the past year, specifically which insurance insurance-related changes they’ve seen and are concerned about.
Roughly one in eight Florida respondents (12 percent) and one in nine California respondents (10.7 percent) said their insurance company stopped offering coverage for their home, compared with 8.3 percent of respondents overall.
Other homeowners are concerned they may be dropped by their insurer in the future.
Over one-quarter (27.7 percent) of respondents in Florida said they are or have been concerned their insurer may stop offering coverage for their home, compared with 13.5 percent of respondents in California and 8.9 percent of respondents as a whole.
Most respondents have seen a rise in insurance costs, the survey found.
Nearly three-quarters (71.7 percent) said their policy premium increased, with a slightly higher share in Florida (76 percent) and a slightly lower share in California (62.9 percent).
In Florida, the average annual rate is $10,996—higher than any other state.
About 100 homeowners who participated in the survey indicated their insurance company stopped offering coverage for their home.
One-third (33.2 percent) moved or plans to move to a new area where coverage is available, while nearly the same share (30 percent) are staying in their home with little or no coverage.
Almost half (46 percent) of respondents who lost insurance coverage said they’ve found a new insurer to cover their home.
A similar share (44.5 percent) said they pay a significantly higher premium for coverage than before.
Only one-third of U.S. homeowners (34 percent) know which natural disasters their insurance for their home covers.
An even smaller share—27.2 percent—know which natural disasters their insurance covers and how much damage is covered under their policy.
More than one-third of real estate agents (34.4 percent) have experienced an increase in issues related to home insurance during transactions over the past year, according to a separate Redfin-commissioned survey of 500 real estate agents conducted by Qualtrics in December 2023.
The share was significantly higher in Florida and California.
In Florida, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of agents have seen an uptick in insurance issues in the last year, and in California, the share was 64 percent.
The report is based on a Redfin-commissioned survey by Qualtrics in February 2024. The nationally representative survey was fielded to 2,995 U.S. homeowners and renters.