Homeowners struggle amid concerning trend on insurance claims: 'That's never been the case'

Nearly half of Texas home insurance claims were closed without payment, according to a study reported on by the Houston Chronicle.

What's happening?

Weiss Ratings conducted the review. It found that 47% of claims filed by Texas homeowners had been closed out by insurance companies without payment.

The phenomenon itself isn't unusual — Martin Weiss, the agency's founder, told the Chronicle that it's common for a portion of claims to be invalid — but the rates are astonishing. 

"50%? No, that's never been the case," he said. 

In the wake of increasingly extreme weather events, insurance companies across the U.S. have dialed back coverage. Insurance representatives told the Chronicle that this was because homeowners' deductibles exceeded the cost of repairs. However, insurance companies have been purposely increasing their deductibles to avoid taking on responsibility as extreme weather worsens. Many homeowners simply cannot afford to pay high deductibles.

Why is this home insurance trend concerning?

It's not just happening in Texas. In the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires, California insurers denied people coverage, leaving homeowners vulnerable to disaster. 

Unfortunately, this is only just the beginning. While extreme weather events have always been around, the warming atmosphere can make them much more common — and intense.

According to the Guardian, new NASA data shows that extreme weather events have gotten drastically worse within the past five years, more than they'd ever predicted. More evidence is needed to analyze this most recent trend; however, scientists have already linked the cause of worsening extreme weather to the warming climate.

What's being done about it?

More people are waking up to the impact our changing climate has on home insurance, though it seems like homeowners are still being left in the lurch.

The only real solution is to strike this problem at its roots. If lawmakers commit to limiting pollution, extreme weather events will put fewer homeowners at risk. 

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