Home Insurance Now Tops Property Taxes in Two-Thirds of Counties

The new largest line on the homeowner's bill

Property taxes have long been the cost American homeowners complain about most. Insurance may now deserve that spot. A Bloomberg Intelligence analysis published October 20 found that in two-thirds of US counties, the average home insurance premium is now higher than the average property-tax bill.1 Over the past decade, homeowner premiums averaged at the county level have risen 45% after inflation. Nebraska saw a 79% jump.2

The analysts also estimated how much of each auto policy pays for extreme-weather risk. When that share is added to home insurance, total premiums exceed property taxes in 75% of counties.2 On average across counties, homeowners pay 14% more for home insurance than for property tax. Counting weather-linked auto coverage, the gap grows to 30%, according to Bloomberg Intelligence's Andrew John Stevenson.2

The timing is political. A property-tax revolt has been building in several parts of the country, and the cost of living is central to the midterm elections next month.12 Here is the main finding: voters angry about tax bills have mostly been looking at the wrong line item. For a large share of counties, the bill that grew fastest came from insurers, not the assessor.

Where the burden lands, and why the numbers differ

The problem looks different from region to region. Hail and winter storms are pushing rates up across the Midwest and Mountain West, with Colorado, Utah and Minnesota leading.4 In the Southeast, property taxes are among the lowest in the country, so premiums there can run 2.5 to 4 times the tax bill. In the Northeast, the West and big metro areas, high taxes make even fast-rising premiums a smaller share of the total.2

This explains why other estimates of the same trend can look like they disagree. Stevenson put the county-level average for these "climate" premiums at $3,160 a year, compared with $2,423 for property taxes. Nationally, though, property taxes are still higher on average, at $4,594, because high-tax states like California and New York pull the average up.7 A Zillow and Thumbtack analysis released October 22 reached a similar national result. It put the typical homeowner's insurance at $2,266 a year and property taxes at $3,129. It also found that insurance now costs more than taxes in Houston, Phoenix, Denver and Nashville.8 A LendingTree study from July reported that monthly insurance costs exceed property taxes in 15 states. In Tennessee, insurance was nearly double: $284 versus $143.10

The studies measure different things, so their numbers don't match exactly. They all point the same way. Zillow found insurance premiums rose 54% over five years, compared with 19% for property taxes. That makes insurance the fastest-growing hidden cost of owning a home.8 NerdWallet, analyzing more than 840 million rate estimates, found a 24% increase in three years, to a typical $2,564 in early 2026. The Midwest and owners of older homes were hit hardest.11 A state regulators' report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners found inflation-adjusted increases from 2018 to 2024 in every region, ranging from 18% in the Northeast to 43% in the West.12

The rate of increase is slowing, but costs aren't falling

The more recent figures show prices rising more slowly, not dropping. NerdWallet measured a 4.6% national increase from early 2025 to early 2026.11 Insurify reported that home insurance costs rose 12% in 2025, then just 2.2% in the first half of 2026, in line with its 4% forecast for the full year.14 Matic found renewal increases fell to 10.6% in the first half of 2026, down from 19.4% in 2025 and 28% in 2024. A record 11.7% of homeowners actually saw their premiums go down.15 Zillow cited federal data showing premiums rose only 0.3% between February and June.8

These averages hide sharp local increases. Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, saw premiums rise 33% in six months, and Collier County, Florida, now averages more than $10,000 a year.14 One carrier's Wisconsin policyholders face a 39.9% increase taking effect this month.45 A slower national average doesn't help much when premiums climbed for years and are not coming back down. Matic noted that nearly nine in ten homeowners still paid the same or more than a year earlier.15

Insurers are profitable again

The household squeeze is partly a result of insurers rebuilding their finances. US homeowners insurance posted an 88.1 net combined ratio in 2025, its best underwriting result in more than ten years. That came even with the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025.4146 (A combined ratio below 100 means insurers took in more in premiums than they paid out in claims and expenses.) In the first quarter of 2026, the homeowners loss ratio fell to 44.3, from 102.3 a year earlier.44 Allstate's homeowners business went from a 102 combined ratio to 94.6 in the second quarter. Coverage of the results attributed the turnaround mainly to higher premiums and a calm storm season.50

The industry's own experts say the profits depend on luck. Verisk and the trade group APCIA attribute the strong 2025 results more to unusually low catastrophe losses than to any lasting change in risk.41 Swiss Re's worst-case scenario puts 2026 insured catastrophe losses as high as $320 billion, compared with $107 billion in 2025. Meanwhile, reinsurers have cut catastrophe prices by double digits.45 Our reading: policyholders paid for the industry's recovery, while insurers and reinsurers have collected most of the gains. Whether those gains reach households as lower rates is the question to watch through 2027.

Claims payouts and deductibles

Premiums are only part of the cost. Deductibles have also been rising, so families pay more for repairs before insurance covers anything.2 Insurers raise deductibles partly to keep premium increases in check, which moves more of the risk back onto homeowners.7 Reports also describe insurers using drones and satellite photos to judge property condition, sometimes leading to non-renewals or disputes over "deferred maintenance."10

The public money that once helped cover disaster losses is shrinking too. Over the last 20 years, the federal government paid about 90% of disaster recovery costs, but that split is moving toward roughly half federal and half local. After Hurricane Harvey, Texas received $23 billion in federal aid compared with $4 billion from local sources. After the Los Angeles fires, Washington provided $2.6 billion and Californians spent $3.5 billion themselves.6 Stevenson warned that local governments don't have that kind of money available on short notice.3 There is also a feedback loop. When insurance costs slow home sales, they can shrink the property-tax base that counties depend on.7

Auto and health premiums add to the pressure

Home insurance is not the only policy getting more expensive. NerdWallet found the median auto premium rose 32.3% between January 2023 and January 2026, to $2,359. That is more than twice the growth in personal income, and Minnesota led with a 56.9% increase.25 As with home insurance, the increases are slowing: up just 2.6% in the latest year, with most insurers filing for no change.25 Insurify, however, expects auto rates to rise in 32 states by the end of 2026, after a 6% national decline in 2025.29 Its analyst called this year one of "normalization" driven by inflation, costlier vehicle technology and claims costs.29 The two sources disagree on direction, and the truth is probably in between: increases are flattening for good drivers, while high-risk drivers still face large jumps.24

Health insurance increases are now falling more directly on workers. KFF's 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey, released October 22, found family premiums averaged $28,303, up 5%. Workers' own contributions rose 9%, to $7,471, while wages grew 3.7%.32 At small firms, workers pay an average of $9,687 toward family coverage.38 The Business Group on Health expects a median increase of 9.2% next year.37 On the ACA marketplaces, benchmark premiums rose 21.7% in 2026. Analysts tied the jump largely to the expiration of enhanced tax credits and policy uncertainty.23

The bottom line

Looking at all of this together, the main story is not that home insurance increased once. Households now face several fixed insurance bills, for home, car and health, that grew faster than paychecks for years. Most of those increases are slowing now, but costs have not come down. Insurers are profitable again, which gives regulators and voters a reason to push for lower rates. Climate-driven losses give insurers a reason to resist. A Gallagher executive summed up the industry view: insurance is less affordable but no less necessary, and policyholders should be willing to pay for it.2 With the midterms weeks away, many voters will be paying those bills when they cast their ballots.