SAN ANTONIO — Home insurance is becoming unaffordable for many, especially first-time buyers, and natural disasters are the leading cause of the rising rates.
Nearly one in three home insurance policies had a rate increase of at least 25% in the most recent coverage renewal period. That, combined with home prices that remain high, is pricing even more people out of the market.
Insurance experts say there are two big reasons for the jump.
"The first one being the cost of construction," said Ron Snouffer, owner of National Claims Negotiators in North Texas. "Now, housing prices have gone through the roof over the last five years due to inflation. Material costs, labor costs both have skyrocketed."
Across the U.S. in 2023, most insurance companies raised their rates for homeowners by double-digits. Progressive saw an increase of 10.4%, a 2.9% increase over 2022. Allstate's rates also rose just over 10%, up from a hike of 4.3% in 2022.
More frequent storm events are the second factor driving up rates significantly.
"We've had a lot more storms here in the last couple of years than we've had in the past. With those two factors, you're going to have increases," said Snouffer.
An analysis by S&P Global found areas prone to natural disasters such as the recent severe thunderstorm outbreaks here in Texas and hurricanes, are seeing the greatest increases in rates.
Between 2018 and 2023, Oklahoma saw their home coverage costs climb a whopping 42%; Arkansas saw an increase of 32.5%; and Texas experienced a monster 60% jump in rates.
Even coastal storms like Beryl that flooded Houston and knocked out power can still have an impact on San Antonio.
"They're pulling from North Texas, they're pulling from San Antonio (and) Austin down to the the Gulf region, so that they can rebuild back and that's going to affect it in North Texas and San Antonio also," Snouffer said.
Snouffer also told KENS 5 that every seven to 10 years, a storm event is likely to damage your home in some way. Without insurance, you could end up paying out of pocket to fix any damage or rebuild your entire home if you don't keep your insurance.