New data shows U.S. homeowners prone to natural disasters lose homeowners insurance at nearly twice the rate of those who live in less vulnerable counties.

Kinder Institute data shows 55% of Harris County residents own homes all of which are subject to the intense southeast Texas weather and forces.

Data analyzed by ABC shows in 2023, that 4,192 people, or 1% of Harris County policy holders were told by their insurance companies that they couldn’t renew their policies. Keep in mind, since 2023, we’ve experienced Hurricane Beryl and the derecho in May 2024 which could impact the current number.

Houston Association of Realtors secretary and treasurer Troy Cothran said the reason this is happening is because in recent years more people have been filing big claims.

“What we’re seeing is they’re saying is we want to limit our risk, we’re wanting to pull back in certain markets that have higher chances of claims and we’ve seen that here in Texas for the last for and five years we’ve seen a lot of companies pull out,” Cothran said.

And as companies pull out and drop clients, Cothran said they also remove the competition, allowing the remaining companies to hike rates.

“What we have seen so much across the board right now with homeowners is they’ve seen their policies jump at least double, some have been three or four times the cost,” Cothran said.

If you do get dropped by your provider, you’ll have to shop around or your mortgage company will give you forced insurance, but Cothran warns those policies are typically expensive and won’t cover much.

Cothran recommended reaching out to independent insurance agents. He said they typically partner with a number of companies and will be able to help you decide which of them has the best option for your home.

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