Texas Homeowners Battle Rising Insurance Rates
DALLAS – Texas homeowners are grappling with some of the highest insurance premiums in the country, with rates increasing by double digits year over year. Despite the growing burden, relief from the Texas Legislature remains elusive.
The biggest challenge for homeowners and prospective buyers is often not the home price itself, but the combination of property taxes and mandatory homeowners’ insurance. Severe weather events in Texas, including hailstorms, tornadoes, and freezes, result in billions of dollars in insurance claims annually. Inflation has further exacerbated the issue by driving up repair and replacement costs.
While the Texas Legislature has offered some property tax relief through higher homestead exemptions, none of the insurance-focused bills filed this year are expected to reach the governor’s desk. Meanwhile, appraisal values have surged, and insurance companies continue to raise their rates.
Single father Miguel Castro, who has been searching for a home since 2022, has seen insurance quotes double. “I first started looking… and it was going to be, I think, $1,000 to $1,200 for the year,” he said. “Now it’s looking like maybe $2,200 for the year. So that’s double.”
Doreen Diego, who moved to Texas in 2019 and purchased a home in Denton in 2021, experienced a similar surge in insurance costs. Her premiums skyrocketed from $1,200 to $4,700 over several years. “It’s something people everywhere are talking about, but no one seems to be taking any action,” she lamented.
Realtor Ashley Gentry frequently discusses the issue with prospective buyers. “How about let’s get the insurance checked on before we do any other due diligence on the home?” she advises her clients. Gentry notes that existing homeowners are seeing year-over-year premium increases of 20% to 60%.
Both Diego and Gentry believe that meaningful change may require multiple legislative sessions. “I think that even more so than understanding why we’re in this predicament, there needs to be a recalibration altogether of what the insurance companies are doing,” Diego said.
The situation highlights the complex interplay between severe weather events, inflation, and legislative action in shaping the Texas homeowners’ insurance market.
