Homeowners across the U.S. have seen their insurance rates skyrocket in recent years.
Nebraska, where one homeowner has seen her premiums nearly quadruple since 2016, has been no exception, WOWT reported.
What's happening?
As rising global temperatures have increased the severity of extreme weather events, insurance companies have responded by raising their prices.
For Nancy Major-Jaeck of West Omaha, this has meant seeing her annual homeowners insurance premium leap from $1,200 nine years ago to $4,500 today, per WOWT.
Each year, she must brace herself as she awaits notice of how much more insuring her home will cost.
"When it gets to this time of the year, I got to be ready for what's going to happen," Major-Jaeck said, according to WOWT.
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Extreme weather events have not been the only culprit. Experts have said that rising repair costs have also led insurance companies to charge more.
Insurance companies "have operated in the red for a long time," said Joline Jaros, owner of an Omaha insurance agency, per WOWT. "They had to raise rates to cover costs of building, materials, labor."
Nebraskans have not been alone. Over the past half-decade, premiums for homeowners insurance across the U.S. have spiked, increasing by an average of 70%, according to a study by ICE Mortgage Technology.
Why do higher insurance premiums matter?
Higher insurance premiums have made it significantly more expensive for homeowners to protect what, for many Americans, is their most valuable asset: their home.
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Definitely 😡 In addition to higher premiums, many homeowners have been facing higher deductibles.
"Long gone are the days of the $500 and the $1,000 deductible," said Jaros, according to WOWT. "It's 1% or 2% usually on your actual dwelling coverage of your home."
These higher prices can make it difficult, if not impossible, for some homeowners to repair or rebuild their homes following a natural disaster. They also add to the overall cost of homeownership, potentially putting the dream of owning a home out of reach for some.
"Property insurance costs continue to be the fastest-growing subcomponent of mortgage payments among existing homeowners," said Andy Walden, the lead mortgage and housing-market researcher at ICE Mortgage Technology.
What's being done about higher insurance premiums?
Lawmakers in some states have sought to rein in the rising cost of homeowners insurance. Florida has recently changed how it regulates insurance companies, yielding mixed results for homeowners, according to The Washington Post.
Similarly, in California, consumer groups and regulators have sparred over rules that would limit how much insurers are allowed to increase premiums, CalMatters reported.
Despite such efforts, as long as home values, construction costs, and average temperatures continue to rise, insurance companies' costs will go up as well. Ultimately, these costs will be passed along to homeowners in the form of higher premiums and deductibles.
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