JEFFERSON COUNTY, AL (WBMA) — Severe weather, inflation and limited building supplies continue to lead to a surge in home and car insurance premiums. It’s been a trying few years for the insurance industry from back to back hurricanes to wildfires. And Alabama homeowners will pay the price.

“Home insurance rates are up 9%, car insurance up 18% this year,” explained Senior Editor at Insurify Chris Schafer. He says look for the trend to continue in 2025. Alabamians pay the 7th highest home insurance rates in the country at an average of $4,082.

Your best defense shop around. “What a lot of people don’t realize is that each of us has a unique set of risk factors and those risk factors aren’t judged evenly from one insurance company to another,” remarked Schafer.

Another strategy is to invest in home improvements such as a new security system and storm resistant shutters. Just be sure your insurance company knows about those improvements.

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And, look at your policy every year. Schafer advises that you play a very active role in your home insurance. Don’t just pay the premium and forget about it. Your needs and opportunities to save money change.

Insurance companies are not as profitable as they used to be feeling the weight of disasters. A July 2024 AM Best report highlighted the financial strain revealing a $15.2 billion underwriting loss in 2023 which is more than double the $7.6 billion loss in 2022. In some areas, insurers have left the market.

A new statewide building code in Alabama could help the state’s insurance market by mitigating damages in new developments.

Something else to be on your radar: insurance companies using drones and satellites to monitor your property. “I received a letter in the mail that Nationwide said they were going to cancel my homeowner’s insurance because I had streaks in my roof and blotchy spots,” said Don Wright.

The family had been loyal to the company for years and was suddenly dropped. The Wrights not happy to find out the company had been snooping around their property.

The Insurance Information Institute notes that drones are particularly useful for natural disasters. Without drones, only 10% of homes might be checked annually.