What is the Average Cost of Texas Home Insurance?

The average cost of Texas home insurance in 2009 was $1409 which is 58 percent higher than it was in 2008. Further, it is 58 percent higher than the next highest state which is Florida. In fact, the national average for homeowners insurance is only $804.

Texas has a higher number of claims because of hail, tornado and wind damage. This raises the average cost of insurance in the state. Mold also plays a role. The state legislature passed a law in 2003 requiring insurance companies to reimburse homeowners for mold treatment which increased the overall cost of insurance as well.

You may think that this is unfair because other states have hurricanes, earthquakes and floods. But, these are not covered under normal homeowners insurance policies. People who live in areas where these natural disasters occur must buy separate insurance whereas the Texas problems are covered under the normal policy.

Texas also has catastrophe funds included in the insurance which states like Florida and California don’t have.

But Texans don’t see any relief in these cold hard facts. In fact, what they do see is that their insurance rates have been rising by double digits year after year.

The state legislature is not blind to what is going on. They are looking at ways to lower insurance rates. For instance, one proposal requires that the largest insurers get permission from the state to increase their rates. They do, however, have to be careful. If they push the insurance companies too far, they might respond by not offering any coverage in the state. That would be worse than having high insurance rates.

However, the legislature cannot stop the weather related property damage so even if there is relief in future rate hikes, Texans are likely to continue to have among the highest rates in the country.

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