In the Last year or so, you have probably seen an increase in your property or car insurance. Many places have seen outrageously high increases in property insurance rates, which on average, spiked at a 21% increase in 2023 on top of a 12% increase from 2022. If your state saw lower increases, you can consider yourself lucky! Some states, like Florida, saw increases as high as 68%. Unfortunately for 2024, larger analysts like PolicyGenius and Bankrate are calling for 2024 to have large double-digit increases once again.

The biggest question most investors have is what is causing rising rates, and where are these huge rate hikes occurring? Answering where these increases are happening also opens up a bit of a window as to why they are happening, so let's start by discussing which states are seeing the highest increases.

Florida; 68%: Florida has taken the brunt of these rate hikes, but it is no surprise as to why. For many years, natural disasters and extensive litigation have yielded Florida unprofitable for almost every insurance company. The situation is also worsened by rising construction costs and inflation. Many insurers are abandoning Florida, leaving consumers with the only option of government-backed policies.

New Mexico; 47%: New Mexico may have flown under your radar, but their insurance increases are due to wildfires that have occurred in New Mexico as well as Colorado in the past years.

Colorado; 46%: Colorado has been a victim of wildfires like New Mexico but has also become a victim of a dramatic rise in housing costs. Colorado has seen a massive uptick in development in recent years, which has caused the average home price to increase 39.1% since 2021.

Idaho; 46%: While there are no large-scale natural disasters occurring in Idaho to bring rates up, Idaho has also seen home prices skyrocket. Home Prices in Idaho have increased by a whopping 57% since 2020.

Texas; 46%: Texas, unfortunately, has seen issues from power grid deficiencies to floods and tornados in recent years. On top of housing costs rising by 22.3% since 2021.

Now that we have covered the where of the question and you've seen some specific reasons as to why these rates are increasing so drastically, you will have noticed one common theme that all of these states share. A massive increase in housing costs. Rising building costs across the board, resulting in more expensive replacement costs, require higher premiums for the insurance companies to remain profitable. As homes look like they will continue to increase in value in the foreseeable future, it is unlikely rates will come down. Fluctuations in insurance rates are soon to become a make-it-or-break-it factor on many real estate investment deals, and as an investor, it is something you should keep your eye on in the future!