The year was hardly free from disaster. It was a record year for “convective” storms, formed when warm air rising from the ground meets a cloud, starting a process that causes the cloud to build on itself. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes caused more than $50 billion in insurance losses in 2025. Losses from the Eaton and Palisades wildfires in Southern California are estimated to be more than $61 billion.
According to the online insurance marketplace Insurify, the average cost of home insurance will increase 4 percent in 2026. This relatively unfrightening number obscures the average 46 percent increase since 2021. The burden on households is great enough that almost half of homeowners surveyed by Insurify want home insurance to be optional. Some who own their homes are already making this high-stakes gamble, one that could lead to disaster for homeowners still paying a mortgage.
There are surprises in Insurify’s 2026 rate projections for those who don’t study insurance markets. The average cost will be greater in 20 states than in California. In fact, average rates are higher in most of the South and Midwest than in the Golden State. (The picture could change as the smoke clears from the 2025 wildfire season.)
It’s well recognized that hurricanes have pushed prices through the roof in Florida. The average 2025 premium in the Sunshine State was $8,290, more than twice the national average.
It may be more of a surprise that Oklahoma has the second-highest cost of any state. This may be less because disaster risk is greater in Oklahoma than in almost any other state than insurers’ need to balance their books. A recent investigation found that Oklahoma is one of several states where regulators are less likely to question requests for rate increases.
Hover over a state to see 2025 premiums, 2026 projections and rate of change.
