Home Insurance Now Costs More Than Property Taxes for Most US Households

The news: Home insurance premiums have risen so fast over the last decade that the average premium now exceeds the average property-tax bill in two-thirds of US counties, according to a new analysis from Bloomberg Intelligence, reported by Bloomberg Law on October 20, 2026.

Averaged at the county level, US homeowners insurance policies are up 45% in inflation-adjusted terms over a decade — and some states have seen much larger jumps. The findings put insurance, not taxes, at the center of the household affordability crunch ahead of next month's midterm elections.

The Bloomberg analysis, in brief

• Who: Bloomberg Intelligence, the research arm of Bloomberg, with reporting by Bloomberg Law.
• When: published Monday, October 20, 2026.
• Headline finding: in roughly two-thirds of US counties, the average homeowners insurance premium is now higher than the average property-tax bill.
• The trend: county-level average premiums have climbed 45% over the past decade after adjusting for inflation — a sustained, decade-long climb, not a one-year blip.
• The driver: extreme weather linked to climate change is pushing claims and costs higher, with some states seeing far bigger increases than the national average.

This is the first major county-level analysis to frame the affordability crisis this way: property taxes have long been the default target of homeowner anger, but in most counties, the insurance bill has quietly overtaken them.

Why insurance costs have exploded

Homeowners insurance is priced on future risk and replacement cost, and both have surged. The Bloomberg analysis points to extreme weather linked to climate change as a key force: more frequent hurricanes, wildfires, hailstorms and floods mean insurers pay out more — and charge more to cover the next decade of risk.

There are three compounding forces behind the 45% figure:

• More and costlier disasters. Severe storms that once happened every few decades now strike regularly, and every billion-dollar event gets folded into future premiums.
• More expensive rebuilding. Labor, lumber, roofing and wiring all cost substantially more than ten years ago, so each claim costs more to settle — and Coverage A (dwelling) limits rise with replacement-cost indexes, pushing premiums up every year.
• Reinsurance costs. Insurers themselves buy reinsurance against big losses; after years of heavy catastrophe payouts, reinsurers raised their prices — and those costs flow straight through to your premium.

What it means for your wallet and your mortgage

The numbers are already reshaping household budgets. A July 2026 LendingTree analysis covered by RISMedia found that homeowners now pay more for insurance than property taxes in nearly one-third of all states. In Tennessee, the ratio of insurance to property taxes runs about 1.99 to 1 (roughly $284 a month in insurance against $143 in property taxes); Alabama and South Carolina show similarly lopsided ratios. Nebraska homeowners pay an average of about $413 a month for homeowners insurance — nearly a fifth of total monthly housing costs.

The pinch shows up even when your mortgage is fixed. If you have an escrow account, your lender collects for insurance and taxes monthly, then recalculates once a year. A rising premium creates an escrow shortage: the lender raises your monthly payment to cover both the shortfall and the higher expected bill — so your "housing payment" climbs even though your mortgage rate never changed.

Insurance is now heavy enough to kill home sales outright. A September 2026 "No Policy, No Sale" report covered by InsuranceNewsNet found that 47% of homebuyers and sellers had a transaction disrupted by insurance affordability problems, with national contract fallout reaching 7.1% — and roughly one in seven California home sales fell apart in 2024 because buyers could not secure insurance at all.

If you're buying your first home, our home insurance guide for first-time buyers walks through what a policy covers and how to compare quotes before you sign.

Why it's shaping the elections

Bloomberg Law frames the analysis as a political story: insurance has become a defining piece of the household affordability crunch heading into next month's midterm elections. When voters feel squeezed by monthly bills, politicians respond — and insurance premiums are now one of the largest monthly bills a homeowner pays.

Florida offers a preview. A University of North Florida poll released September 29, 2026 found that 63% of insured Florida homeowners worry more about property insurance than about property taxes (just 36% named taxes) — five weeks before voters there weigh Amendment 3, the largest proposed homestead tax cut in state history. Among homeowners in the same house five years or longer, 47% said premiums had risen at least 50% over that span, and 28% said their bill had roughly doubled or more.

Expect insurance costs to stay in the campaign spotlight: candidates can promise tax relief, but premiums are set by insurers reacting to risk — a much harder problem to legislate away.

What to do now: 7 steps to cut your bill

1. Shop every year, not just at renewal. Insurers price new business aggressively; loyal renewers often pay more. Compare 3–5 carriers against your renewal quote each year.
2. Raise your deductible. Moving from $500 to $1,000 or $2,000 can cut premiums 10–25% — only do it if you could cover the higher deductible after a claim.
3. Bundle home and auto. Multi-policy discounts are typically 10–25% and often the single biggest saving available.
4. Ask about mitigation discounts. Storm-resistant roofing, hurricane shutters, water-leak sensors and security systems earn credits — and reduce the risk insurers are pricing in.
5. Check your Coverage A number. Dwelling limits rise automatically with rebuilding-cost indexes. Ask your agent whether the estimated rebuild cost still matches your home — over-insuring the structure wastes money every year.
6. Review your escrow statements. When your premium rises, your lender's escrow analysis letter will show it months later as a higher monthly payment. Read it instead of filing it.
7. Track state rate filings. Big jumps often come as approved rate filings (like State Farm's 8% Illinois homeowners increase this fall). Your state insurance department publishes filings and handles complaints — free tools most homeowners never use.

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