Although last year’s Atlantic hurricane season was subdued in Texas, Houston homeowners will likely face higher home insurance rates this year, according to a new report.

In 2024, according to online marketplace Insurify, the average annual cost of home insurance in Texas was $4,380, an increase of 14% from a year earlier. In 2026, Insurify projects a 3% average statewide increase.

“Texas faces a full roster of natural disasters: hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, snowstorms, flooding, and hail, among others,” wrote Matt Brannan, senior economic analyst at Insurify, in the report. 

The same is true of Harris County, Brannan said. He noted that the Federal Emergency Management Agency maintains a National Risk Index that assigns every county in the United States a risk score for 18 natural hazards, from floods and wildfires to avalanches and volcanic activity.

“The average county might be high risk for one event or the other,” Brannan said. “Houston is very high risk for, let’s see — one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight different types of natural hazards, including two where Houston has the highest risk score in the nation: tornadoes and hurricanes.” 

Houston is the most expensive major metro in the state for home insurance, Insurify said, with an average premium of $5,653 in 2025. Only Port Lavaca and Bay City, smaller cities in south Texas and closer to the coast, had higher average premiums. 

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The issue is nationwide, Insurify said: nearly all states saw average home insurance premiums rise in 2025 and the company projects the national average will increase again this year, marking a fifth straight year of increases.

While costly natural disasters have been a major factor in driving up home insurance rates, Brannan continued, inflation has also fueled increases. As the cost of supplies such as lumber goes up, so too does the amount an insurer must pay in the event of a loss. 

He added that homeowners facing rising rates can invest in their properties to protect both their homes and their wallets.

“Strengthening your roof, trimming trees, installing a lightning surge protector, upgrading to a wind-rated garage door—these are all things that make insurers look at your property and go, maybe it’s not as big of a risk as it had been in the past,” Brannan said. “These companies do want to compete, so it’s always worth checking. Don’t underestimate the potential for discounts.” 

Insurify’s projections, he added, are based in part on the real-time quotes customers receive when comparison shopping on the website. 

“Even if natural disasters weren’t as big of a threat, inflation is still a big factor, and it’ll be more of a factor this year,” Brannan said, pointing to the rise in oil prices since the year began. “From a pretty objective point of view, it’s highly unlikely that we’re going to see rates retreat.”