California property owners can expect the nation’s steepest insurance premium hikes this year.
Nevertheless, that surge will leave California property owners paying below U.S. norms, according to my trusty spreadsheet‘s peek at a report by policy tracker Insurify. Its numbers reflect what private insurers charge to cover properties across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
For Californians, that means an estimated 16% jump in premiums for 2026. It’s the biggest jump in the country, four times the 4% hike a typical American faces.
Years of rising property damage are largely behind this, with the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires as the latest example.
After California, Nebraska is seeing a 13% increase, followed by New Mexico at 11% and Georgia at 10%. Meanwhile, policies are actually getting cheaper in Hawaii and Massachusetts (down 2%) and Maine (down 1%).
Relative bargain
Please do not be mad at me for relaying this insurance math.
Even after the 2026 increase, California property insurance remains a relative bargain compared with the rest of the country.
Lower California rates are one reason why many property owners have trouble finding coverage. State insurance regulation has made it difficult for insurers to raise their rates, even as their costs and risks surge.
Owners who cannot obtain insurance coverage most often use the state’s FAIR Plan. Those premiums are expected to rise by 29% next year.
Note that Insurify projects the average annual premium in California for 2026 will be $2,843, ranking 21st-highest among all states.
Do you know of many housing-related expenses where you can say California prices are 7% below the national norm?
The most expensive premiums are found in Florida at $8,458 per year, followed by Oklahoma at $5,205, Louisiana at $5,035, Nebraska at $4,560 and Texas at $4,529. These states face high risks from hurricanes, tornadoes or hail.
The cheapest insurance is in Vermont at $1,094 annually, followed by Maine at $1,359 and Utah at $1,370.
Even cheaper?
Keep in mind, the average Californian is insuring a very expensive property.
California insurance policies commonly cover $488,000 in repairs, according to Insurify. This is the second-highest amount among the states and 43% above the national average of $342,000.
Only Hawaii is higher at $500,000. The lowest policy coverage is in Oklahoma at $292,000.
Stack up what homeowners pay against how much coverage they get, and California’s pricing looks even more reasonable.
This premium-to-coverage ratio indicates that the typical Californian pays 0.6% of the coverage offered. That ranks No. 30 among the states and is one-third below the nation’s 0.9% ratio.
The highest ratios are in Florida (2.6%), Oklahoma (1.8%), Louisiana (1.7%) and Texas (1.4%). The lows were in Vermont, Alaska, the District of Columbia, New Hampshire and New Jersey, all at 0.4% or less.
Loss likelihood
If you own property in California, you probably already know this, but here’s a reminder of a never-ending risk: natural disasters.
My trusty spreadsheet also reviewed data from various government and industry sources to see how often disasters strike – and how much those ugly events cost. The incidents tracked include wildfires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards and hail.
To grade the 50 states and the District of Columbia on their relative natural disaster risks, five measures were developed that account for the frequency and damage of calamities, weighted against population and geographic size.
When you add it all up, California ranks third for the likelihood of expensive disasters.
Florida is the riskiest state, followed by Hawaii, California, Louisiana and Tennessee.
If you want a safer place, consider Alaska, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, or Wisconsin.
Of course, this is just a simple way to look at a complex problem that befuddles property owners, insurance companies and policymakers alike.
Clearly, these aren’t just California headaches. One-third of Americans live in 10 states with the highest risk.
How often
The history of disasters offers us clues as to where the next one may hit.
Look at the five measures used to create the risk rankings, starting with how often these disasters actually happen.
Using the number of federal disasters declared over the past decade and dividing that by each state’s square miles, California comes in at No. 9.
By this measure, the most disaster-prone are D.C., Rhode Island, Hawaii, Connecticut and Washington state. The least are Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Alaska and Michigan.
Next is the number of major storms per square mile.
California is much lower on this list, ranking 41st. The stormiest are D.C., New Jersey, Maryland, Hawaii and Rhode Island. The calmest are Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Idaho.
The price tag
Think about what it costs to clean up after disasters. This is a major driver of home insurance premiums.
First, look at the dollar amount of damages divided by the number of people in each state. California ranks ninth-highest for disaster costs per person.
The biggest bills? Louisiana, Hawaii, Texas, Florida and Colorado. The smallest? Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey.
Next, check out the cost per storm. California’s disasters are the fifth most expensive.
The most expensive storms happen in Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Oregon. The least expensive are in Delaware, Montana, Wyoming, Rhode Island and Kentucky.
Finally, if you look at insurance losses per person, California ranks fourth highest.
The largest insurance losses are in Colorado, Nebraska and Florida. After California, Wyoming is next. The lowest losses are in Utah, Hawaii, Nevada, Alaska and Oregon.
Clearly, the property-loss odds are stacked against Californians.
Skipping the costs
Some property owners take one look at their insurance bill and decide to go without.
LendingTree, using Census housing cost data, estimates 11% of California property owners have no homeowner’s insurance policy.
That’s the 11th-lowest level of no coverage among the states. The national rate is 14%.
West Virginia has the highest share of owners without coverage at 24%, followed by New Mexico at 23% and Louisiana at 21%. The fewest uninsured homes are in Colorado, Oregon and New Hampshire at 10%.
So why do so many Californians still pay for coverage?
Contemplate the estimated California premium against statewide household income to see that the cost is relatively affordable.
This 2.8% insurance-cost burden ranks No. 25 among the states. It’s also one-fifth of the nation’s 3.6%.
The highest burden? Florida at 11%, and Louisiana and Oklahoma at 8%. Lows? Vermont, New Hampshire, Utah and Maine, all 1%.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
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