Why Did Texas Home Insurance Rates Go Up?

Your home insurance policy may go up for many reasons including rising costs of labor and materials, the number of claims you and others in your area filed the previous year, and more. Texan homeowners are in a never-ending battle to protect their property and to do so at an affordable rate. To better understand why your home insurance went up, it is important to explore the many different reasons that may cause premiums to rise.

Why Would Home Insurance Increase?

At the end of the day, insurance companies are for-profit businesses. In order to maintain profitability, different measures must be taken which can include rising costs for you as a client. Learn more about the many reasons your home insurance may rise.

Extreme Weather in Your Area

Weather-related claims are consistently leading the way for house insurance claims. Texas is a beautiful state, but it is also large and diverse. There are plenty of weather events that pose a threat to your home and this can result in higher home insurance premiums. Particularly, when the weather in question affects a large geographical area with widespread claims being submitted. Here are a few examples of historical weather that Texans have had to overcome:

• The Winter Storm of 2021 resulted in over 456,000 claims estimating a total of $8.2 billion in losses.
• Hurricane Ike cost Americans $37.5 billion in damages, many of which were Texans as the storm made landfall in Galveston, Texas.
• Hurricane Harvey ravaged the Gulf Coast region of Texas and beyond totaling a massive tally of more than $133 billion in damages.

Having to endure windstorms, extreme thunderstorms, hail storms, tornadoes, wildfires, and even destructive winter storms can cause financial harm to millions of residents throughout Texas. Your home insurance provider should be prepared to honor its commitment to restore your loss after such events, however, it is still a business and it will look for avenues that can offset such large expenses. When destructive weather is affecting your city, expect home insurance prices to rise.

There Is An Increase in Claims From Your Area

As mentioned before, when weather affects a large area and many homes are affected and submit claims, you will likely see a rise in premium when it is time to renew. However, large-scale extreme weather events are not the only cause of this issue. For example, should your neighborhood begin to experience an increase in crime such as theft or vandalism, rates are likely to go up. The location of your home is one of the largest factors universally assessed by homeowners insurance companies when creating your rate.

The Cost of Materials and Labor Have Risen

When your home is damaged or destroyed, you are counting on your home insurance policy to help you restore the loss and move forward. Over time, the costs associated with both building materials and labor continue to rise. This is for a myriad of reasons but due to the uptick in costs, insurance brands will look to compensate for the increase in necessary payouts by increasing your premiums. The more it costs to construct a home, the higher you can expect your homeowners insurance to rise.

Your Insurance Score Decreased

If you miss a payment, fail to pay off debts, or begin to have a lower credit score, your insurance score will decrease. The lower your insurance score, the more money you can expect to pay for your premiums. The best bet for any homeowner is to remain in financial good standing and to maintain a manageable level of debt.

Your Insurance Provider Wants to Make More Money

Insurance brands are a business. Their job is to create value for their shareholders while upholding their obligations to clients. Because the cost of business may go up, they may also raise your rates. It isn’t fun to think about, but it’s a great reminder of the value that comes with comparing your coverage from time to time among a variety of insurance carriers.

Crafting Your Home Insurance Rate

Each home insurance brand has a group of variables that they will assess when taking you on as a client. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live, these factors will be assessed to pinpoint the amount of risk you will bring when being insured. Some of these factors are out of your control while others you can affect. They include things such as where your home is located, how old your home is, the building materials used to construct your home, your credit score, the amount of coverage you’ll be needing, etc.

Although each brand may look at similar characteristics regarding your home, they will do so differently. Brand A will assess risks differently than Brand B who is also looking at things in a different way than Brand C and so forth. Each company uses its own weights and measures to craft your home insurance rate by looking at these risk factors during their calculations. The more risk you pose as a client, the more you can expect to pay. Also, the more coverage you require, the higher your premium will be. Likewise, homeowners with less risk and less coverage can expect more affordable home insurance rates.

Ways To Avoid Paying More for Home Insurance

Homeowners looking to pay less for house insurance are in luck. There may be many reasons for your home insurance rates to increase, but there are also many ways to save. Overpaying for homeowners coverage is something everyone should avoid, but you’ll also want to retain the right amount of coverage. Check out these ways you can save money and keep your premiums lower.

Look For Discounts

Who doesn’t love a discount?

Homeowners insurance companies provide a wide range of discounts for their clients. There are discounts you may be eligible to receive if you install safety features in your home such as a security system. Other discounts are based on an organization such as your job or alumni program. You can even gain discounts for paying in full, going paperless, or going a while without making a claim. As a homeowner, you have options, and while you may not be able to benefit from every discount, there are plenty available. Speak with an agent and find the right discounts for your lifestyle.

Compare Your Home Insurance Coverage Among Many Carriers

Comparison shopping is one of the most effective ways for homeowners to save money. Because there are so many different factors that can go into determining how much you’ll pay and each insurance provider is different, you will receive different rates for your coverage. This is why it always pays to shop around and search through many different reputable insurance carriers to find your coverage at the lowest cost. Although this can be a timely endeavor, homeowners can save a ton of money all without sacrificing their coverage.

Adjust Your Coverages, Policy Limits, or Deductibles

You can enjoy lower rates by adjusting the coverage you are enrolling in. No homeowner should be underinsured, this leads to coverage gaps and expensive bills to pay after a loss. In the same sense, being overinsured will have you overpaying for coverage that you’ll never likely need. Finding the right balance of protection you deserve is what a good insurance agent will do.

Your agent should also maintain appropriate policy limits so that you are protected against unseemly perils without paying too much due to inflated policy limits. In many cases, you may want to consider additional policies such as an umbrella insurance policy, to avoid expensive policy limit increases.

Lastly, the amount you pay for your deductible will also affect how much you pay for your premiums. If your home insurance policy has a high deductible, you’ll pay less for your monthly premium, and vice versa. It is important to note, however, that this will also mean that you’ll need to fork over more cash to cover your losses before receiving any reimbursement from your insurance provider. Every homeowner is different and finding a specific coverage plan for your needs can help you save while maintaining your protection.

Install Safety Features for Your Home

The common theme across insurance is assessing risks and mitigating them. Installing preventative measures against common perils such as theft, fire, and extreme weather, can help you stay better protected all while saving money. Home insurance companies will provide lower rates for homes with features such as smoke detectors, storm-proof windows, security systems, carbon monoxide detectors, etc.

Bundle Your Home and Auto Insurance Policies

If comparison shopping is the most powerful tool a homeowner has for lowering their rate, bundling is a close second. Insurance providers love to reward clients who bundle their home insurance with other policies such as auto insurance. The discounts you may receive for other reasons are great, but they don’t match up to the sizable savings you’ll see by bundling.

Increase Your Credit Score

A higher credit score means a better insurance score. This is looked at favorably by insurance carriers who generally view homeowners with lower credit scores as riskier to insure. No company wants to wonder whether or not it’s going to get paid and homeowners with strong credit scores give insurance carriers confidence that their premiums will be paid, resulting in a lower premium rate.

Pay Less if Your Homeowners Insurance Went Up in Texas

Freedom Insurance Group is proudly headquartered in Flower Mound, Texas, and helps homeowners all across the Lone Star State save money on their insurance. We’ll compare your coverage needs among our 25+ top-rated insurance partners to find the best price on the market for your protection. Our team of agents is ready to help you by doing the hard work for you without compromising coverage.

On average, our clients save around 40% when switching. This is possible because our agents are capable of not only comparing your rate with some of the best insurance brands available to Texans but also through bundling opportunities and discounts. We work with a wide range of insurers and can find the best discounts and insurance bundles to best protect your home and auto all while saving money. Give us a call or see for yourself with our free-to-use, no-obligation homeowners insurance quote tool available online.