LexisNexis Risk Solutions has published its ninth annual US Home Trends Report, offering a detailed analysis of trends affecting the home insurance sector. The latest findings reveal that loss costs continue to rise for the fifth consecutive year across all perils, with insights on claim frequency, severity, seasonality, and geographical patterns.
From 2022 to 2023, overall loss costs increased by 4.1%, while the frequency of claims rose by 11%. Since 2019, these metrics have surged by 52% and 16.9%, respectively. Though severity of claims saw a 6.3% drop year-over-year, it remains significantly higher – nearly 30% – than in 2019. Catastrophe-related claims made up 46% of all claims in 2023, marking the highest level in seven years.
Hail-related claims, in particular, showed a steep rise, with costs up by 57.9% and frequency increasing 53.6% year-over-year. Severity, though rising at a slower pace, still saw a 2.8% increase compared to 2022. The states most affected by hail included Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming.
In contrast, loss costs for other weather-related perils like fire and lightning dropped by 11.1%, and weather-related water perils fell sharply by 51.4%.
Colorado led the nation in catastrophic claim costs, with losses 274% higher than the national average, while Hawaii had the highest severity, with claims 63% above the US average. States with the highest total costs from both catastrophe and non-catastrophe claims were Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, Louisiana, and Iowa, while the lowest included Massachusetts, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Vermont, and Maine.
Cole Winans, vice president of home insurance at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, noted: “In the last year, the US saw several historic-level weather disaster events and the highest level of catastrophic claims across all perils we’ve seen in the past seven years, which contributes to rising premiums that consumers across the country face right now.”
He also emphasized that insurers are grappling with both seasonal and geographic variability, in addition to inflation, which continues to drive up material and labor costs. Winans stressed the importance of using extensive data on peril trends and property conditions to navigate today’s volatile insurance market.
“When we look at peril data over a seven-year span, it’s increasingly clear that home insurers cannot rely on short-term trends alone to make fully informed decisions about their books of business and operational strategies,” added George Hosfield, associate vice president of home insurance at LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
“For example, while hail loss cost surged by 57.9% in a one-year observance, the longer-term trend shows consistent increases across all perils year-over-year. This emphasizes the need for carriers to consider broader historical data when evaluating risk and adjusting pricing strategies to help support their long-term profitability.”
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