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The Moment Everything Changes

It was an ordinary evening in Bellingham, Washington… until it wasn’t. A windstorm picked up right around dinner time. 

Homeowner Mason Campbell describes what happened next: “We started hearing these enormously loud bangs, and it was trees falling. We were hearing them all around us, and it was pretty terrifying to be honest. A tree did end up falling, ricocheting off another tree and hitting our roof above one of our bathrooms upstairs on the second story. The following morning, we were able to see the damage in the daylight, and at that point, we realized it was no longer safe to stay in the house.”

Natural disasters and even everyday storms like the one that destroyed the Campbell home are increasing in frequency and severity. And that’s one of the reasons having the right home insurance coverage is so important. 

We compiled data from 733,436 home insurance premiums around the country, surveyed 2,500 homeowners nationwide, and spoke with 26 homeowners who have had catastrophic claims in the last five years. What we found is that not every homeowner is prepared for the cost and consequences of a natural disaster.

Extreme Weather Is the New Normal

Natural disasters and extreme weather are inherently unpredictable. One hurricane or wildfire season may be catastrophic, while another may be a blip. But looking at the patterns over time, there are two things that are undeniably true: natural disasters are becoming more common, and they’re also becoming more costly.

Between 2000 and 2020, the direct cost of global disasters has risen to $180-200 billion a year. This is a significant jump when you consider the costs were around $70-80 billion yearly between 1970 and 2000.^[1]

In the 1980s, the average length of time between disasters was 82 days. In the last 10 years? It’s just 19 days.^[2]

Worse still, these disasters are getting harder to predict. Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) admit that their traditional models are frequently being challenged by weather events that were less common in the past.^[3] This, in turn, creates challenges for companies trying to determine home insurance rates, which are based on predicting potential risk.

Can You Afford Your Next Disaster?

The amount it costs to repair or rebuild your home after a disaster varies based on the scale of the damage, your home itself, and where you live. But thanks to inflation in labor and lumber supplies, those costs are rising too.^[4]

Homeowners who restored their home after a disaster spent an average of $22,100 in 2023.^[5] This is far more than the average American’s emergency fund can support, and sometimes even covering the home insurance deductible is difficult. A survey from The Zebra found that 40% of homeowners could not pay for a $5,000 emergency.

Average Homeowner Loss by Cause^[6]

Risks Where You Live

Home insurance rates fluctuate significantly based on the weather risks where your home is located. Rates can vary right down to the neighborhood and block you live on. This map shows your risk factor for 12 natural disasters in your specific county.

The Inevitable Link Between Risk and Insurance Prices

Zooming out and looking at the data from the state level, we can see how the states most vulnerable to natural disasters also carry the highest median insurance costs. In areas heavily affected by natural disasters, insurance companies must raise premiums to offset the cost of paying claims.

Of the top ten states with the highest median home insurance premiums:

• Four of the ten are Gulf States (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas) where hurricanes are common 
• Six of the ten (Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas) are in “Tornado Alley”

Weather-related perils like severe convective storms are difficult to predict, cause widespread damage, and often impact heavily built-up urban areas. From an insurance perspective, these perils are all covered under standard policies, unlike floods and earthquakes.

It’s worth noting here that 35% of homeowners reported believing their regular policy would cover them in case of flood or earthquake damage, which usually isn’t the case with a standard policy. Homeowners must purchase supplemental coverage to protect them from these risks.

Experiencing a Disaster Drives Your Rates Up Even More

Insurance companies base premiums on where you live and the potential risk that you will file a claim. But what happens when you actually file a claim? 

That depends on the type of claim.

Fire claims – which include both wildfires and fires caused by faulty wiring, etc  – have the potential to raise premiums by 23%. That’s double the cost increases for most severe weather claims because they aren’t all caused by natural disasters. Insurers view a major fire claim as a high-risk indicator because they are primarily caused by faulty wiring, overheating appliances, and kitchen accidents.

Are Homeowners Worried?

Mason, the homeowner from Washington whose home suffered significant damage from a windstorm, shared the worries he felt in the immediate aftermath of the loss: “Losing power, not having access to everything, cleaning up the debris, the uncertainty of getting damage repaired, having to like get all our clothes and stuff out of the house, worried about our pets.”

But is the average homeowner concerned about natural disasters and their current policy preparedness before the storm? 

Of the homeowners we surveyed, 81% feel confident they have adequate coverage for their home and belongings, and 77% also say they feel confident they’re covered if their home is hit with a natural disaster. Additionally, about a third of homeowners say they are extremely or very prepared for a natural disaster.

That said: Around a third of our respondents are considering adding additional coverage to their homes. 60% of them said that doing so would give them peace of mind. 

After the Storm

Many of the people we interviewed were not as prepared for a natural disaster as they thought. For some, they hadn’t thought about their insurance much until they really needed it.

Our featured homeowner Mason said: “I mostly just thought of my insurance as something you hopefully never have to use. But I didn't really think much about it until the claims process or what it would actually be like until I had to go through it.”

For those who filed claims due to natural disasters, more than half of the claims were covered by a regular homeowners policy. 

This was Mason’s experience: “The main damage to the house and the roof was covered, but some related costs like cleanup expenses or temporary inconveniences weren't covered the way I thought they would be. It definitely made me realize I need to look into my policy before waiting for these events to happen.”

Mason isn’t alone in not looking at the details of his policy until he needed it. Betty Easton from Mississippi also faced a severe ice storm that damaged her house. The coverage was more limited than she expected. She told us, “We had to put off a few non-essential repairs and upgrades because they weren't fully covered. We focused on fixing the most important things first and waited until we could afford the rest. I thought I was better protected, so it was stressful to find out I had to pay more out of pocket than I expected.”

And even when the damages are paid for, sometimes homeowners regret filing. Jessica Myers from Missouri, another storm damage survivor, said of her claims process: “They were very generous. It was easy, though it raised our premium…” In the end, she told us she wished she had just paid for the damages herself, since it would likely have been cheaper in the long run.

Keeping Your Coverage Current in a Changing World

Disasters are getting harder to predict, so to stay one step ahead, you need to be regularly reviewing your policy coverage. Based on our survey, many aren’t taking that advice.

Only 35% of homeowners said they plan to shop for coverage in the coming year. 65% have had the same coverage since they purchased their home. 

Here’s some advice from some of the homeowners we interviewed about their claims experiences after a disaster:

Mason’s roof is now whole, and he has a new appreciation for the importance of fully understanding his home insurance policy and its limitations. Nearly everyone we interviewed agreed: consider the risks in your area, read your policy carefully, and make sure you understand what you will and won’t be covered for before tomorrow’s headline-catching disaster finds your home.

Methodology 

Survey: 

The Zebra partnered with Savanta, an independent agency, to conduct an original survey which is based on online responses from 2,500 US home owners that was conducted in July 2026. The data from 2,500 consumers has been weighted to the most recent Census to ensure it is representative of US consumers who own homes. 

Qualitative Interviews: 

The Zebra used proprietary software to recruit and interview 26 homeowners who had filed a claim due to a natural disaster or severe weather in the last five years. Participants included homeowners from the following states: LA, WI, MS, TX, FL, NE, CA, DE, SC, WA, OH, NY, VA, MO and included damage from the following weather events: hurricane/tropical storm, flood surge, winter storm, hail and thunderstorm, tornado/severe wind. AI agents helped to collect and analyze this data. All participant names have been anonymized. 

Database: 

The home insurance rates shown in this report are generated by The Zebra’s Dynamic Insurance Rating Tool, a proprietary estimator that uses the most up-to-date approved rate filings across the United States at the ZIP code level to ensure the data reflects current pricing. The underlying rate information is sourced from Quadrant Information Services, which compiles filings from insurers in every state using data from S&P Global.

• $300,000 in dwelling coverage
• $100,000 in liability coverage
• A $1,000 deductible
• Home construction year: 1981
• Homeowner age: 45
• 2% hurricane deductible in applicable states
• $2,000 wind/hail deductible
• Good credit

Markets that are closed to new business plus high cost carriers have been excluded in Oklahoma and Nebraska. While Hawaii shows as the most affordable premium, hurricane insurance is mandatory and not included in this total. Medians have been used to reduce the impact of severe outliers.

FEMA Data (Risk Map): 

FEMA data were retrieved using FEMA’s APIs. While this project uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's API, it is not endorsed by FEMA. 

When referencing The Zebra's research or proprietary rate data in editorial coverage, please attribute as: [Finding]. Source: The Zebra, State of Insurance™ | Auto: The Growing Cost of Driving in 2026 (July 2026). A link to the original report is appreciated. For questions about data methodology or press inquiries, contact press@thezebra.com.