Homeowners insurance claims statistics (Updated 2023)

Over 1 in 4 property damage claims are caused by fire and lightning, which are far and away the most expensive home insurance claims you can file. [1] On the liability end, claims may be less frequent, but they’re also more expensive. That’s because liability claims often result in lawsuits that require paying out medical expenses and settlements — which can be pricey. The liability component of your homeowners insurance policy pays for all of these expenses.

Check out even more homeowners insurance statistics — from average claim settlements to misinformation most homeowners believe and more.

Homeowners insurance claims statistics

We dig into everything from the most common types of home insurance claims to how much insurance companies have to pay out in claim settlements on average. 

• 6% of insured homes filed at least one claim in 2020 [2]

• $168 is how much more homeowners pay on average in 2022 for home insurance after filing one claim — compared to homeowners with a clean claims history

• $13,962 was the average property damage claim amount from 2016 to 2020 [3]

• 2.3% percent of claims were liability claims in 2020 [4]

• 34% of claims were caused by wind and hail — the most common type of insurance claim [5]

• $77,340 was the average home insurance claim amount for fire and lightning claims from 2016 to 2020 [6]

• 104,691 was the estimated number of hospital emergency room-treated injuries associated with trampolines in 2014, which could lead to home insurance liability claims [7]

Most common types of homeowners insurance claims

Here are the most common homeowners insurance claims, along with the average settlement for each type of claim from 2016 to 2020, according to the Insurance Information Institute. [8]

Cause of claim	Average claim settlement
Property damage claims	$13,804
Fire and lightning	$77,340
Water damage and freezing	$11,650
Wind and hail	$11,695
Theft	$4,415
All other property damage	$6,773
Liability claims	$22,611
Bodily injury and property damage	$30,324
Medical payments and other	$7,147

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Average cost of home insurance by claims history

Filing a claim can result in your home insurance rates going up. Here's the average annual cost of home insurance in the U.S. in 2022 based on different claims histories:

Home insurance losses by state

California, Florida, and Texas take the top spots as the states with the most home insurance losses between 2015 and 2019 — not surprising given the natural disasters these states are prone to. New York State also landed a spot in the top 5 likely due to its risk of both hurricanes and winter storms.

Here’s a complete look at the average homeowners insurance losses by state from 2015 to 2019, according to the III.

Rank	State	Average homeowners insurance losses (2015–2019)
1	California	$10,733,309,200
2	Florida	$6,482,582,800
3	Texas	$5,865,190,400
4	Illinois	$2,431,011,000
5	New York	$2,428,999,000
6	Georgia	$2,056,878,600
7	Colorado	$1,936,387,200
8	Pennsylvania	$1,568,408,800
9	North Carolina	$1,467,062,200
10	Michigan	$1,383,606,200
11	Minnesota	$1,360,476,400
12	Virginia	$1,302,552,800
13	Ohio	$1,275,407,000
14	New Jersey	$1,171,429,400
15	Missouri	$1,134,358,000
16	Massachusetts	$1,128,428,200
17	Maryland	$1,028,328,600
18	Tennessee	$1,007,537,400
19	Indiana	$981,446,200
20	Washington	$921,236,400
21	Alabama	$856,051,200
22	Arizona	$801,786,800
23	South Carolina	$732,084,200
24	Oklahoma	$726,138,800
25	Wisconsin	$708,497,600
26	Connecticut	$665,001,600
27	Louisiana	$624,820,000
28	Nebraska	$597,052,400
29	Kentucky	$577,635,400
30	Kansas	$544,881,800
31	Arkansas	$508,401,200
32	Iowa	$476,700,600
33	Oregon	$447,948,800
34	Mississippi	$413,557,200
35	New Mexico	$357,842,800
36	Nevada	$298,835,200
37	Utah	$282,194,000
38	Idaho	$246,612,000
39	West Virginia	$222,663,800
40	Rhode Island	$208,193,600
41	Montana	$192,382,800
42	New Hampshire	$182,150,400
43	Maine	$172,670,200
44	South Dakota	$166,040,400
45	Wyoming	$149,107,600
46	Hawaii	$129,414,200
47	Delaware	$115,016,800
48	North Dakota	$99,088,200
49	Vermont	$85,591,000
50	Washington D.C.	$80,421,600
51	Alaska	$78,103,000

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Which states have the most home insurance lightning claims?

Along with being deadly, lightning strikes can also wreak havoc on your home by striking your house, hitting a power line that causes a surge in your home, or even causing wildfires (these are often the biggest and most dangerous wildfires). 

Here are the top 10 states with the most lightning claims and how much they cost in insured losses in 2021. [9]

State	Number of lightning claims	Insured losses
Florida	5,339	$88,300,000
Texas	4,490	$95,200,000
Georgia	3,817	$43,800,000
California	3,381	$522,600,000
New York	2,426	$45,100,000
Pennsylvania	2,410	$34,000,000
North Carolina	2,377	$36,800,000
Louisiana	2,372	$28,000,000
Alabama	2,276	$29,300,000
Michigan	1,887	$26,900,000

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In which states are homes most at risk of wildfire damage?

California may not experience the most wildfires of any U.S. state (that designation belongs to Texas) or even the most acreage burned (see: Alaska), but the Golden State has by far the most properties at risk of wildfire damage, according to Verisk Wildfire Risk Analysis. [10]

Here are the top 10 states with the most properties at risk of wildfire damage in 2021.

State	Number of properties at risk of wildfires	Percentage of homes at risk of wildfires
California	2,040,600	15%
Texas	717,800	7%
Colorado	373,900	17%
Arizona	242,100	9%
Idaho	175,000	26%
Washington	155,500	6%
Oklahoma	153,400	9%
Oregon	147,500	9%
Montana	137,800	29%
Utah	136,000	14%

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California has over 2 million homes in designated high-wildfire risk areas, almost 75% more than the number of at-risk homes in Texas. This residential exposure has had devastating consequences for California real estate. The year 2020 saw four of the five largest wildfires in California state history. The increase in wildfires is part of the reason home insurance rates are spiking in the Golden State. 

In which states are homes most at risk of hurricane damage?

One of the most common types of homeowners insurance claims is due to wind and hail-related losses, including damage from destructive tropical storms and hurricanes. As the table below shows, homes in coastal states like Florida, Louisiana, and Texas are particularly vulnerable to tropical cyclones. 

A Category 5 hurricane in Florida, for example, is powerful enough to inflict damage on around 3 million homes, according to the III. That accounts for nearly one-third of the total housing units in the Sunshine State.

Number of homes at risk for hurricane damage — broken down by category

Here’s how many homes in each state are at risk of hurricane damage based on the severity of the storm as of 2020.

State	Category 1 hurricane	Category 2 hurricane	Category 3 hurricane	Category 4 hurricane	Category 5 hurricane
Florida	353,994	1,088,511	1,806,312	2,362,323	2,851,642
Louisiana	72,883	212,707	640,307	770,030	843,349
Texas	41,398	122,453	264,103	399,741	563,024
New Jersey	95,473	277,147	381,388	471,323	471,323
New York	76,805	228,069	351,937	467,787	467,787
Virginia	23,232	89,347	243,707	366,117	410,277
South Carolina	37,107	132,728	219,420	308,387	363,875
North Carolina	33,254	97,694	165,266	216,446	267,802
Georgia	9,378	54,470	113,068	152,882	164,504
Massachusetts	8,102	42,832	97,083	151,979	151,979
Maryland	16,091	59,214	98,757	126,589	126,589
Mississippi	5,740	25,385	56,768	90,023	102,596
Pennsylvania	847	21,378	58,921	85,794	85,794
Connecticut	6,708	27,921	46,186	67,433	67,433
Delaware	10,855	31,057	49,103	67,055	67,055
Alabama	5,203	15,841	27,769	40,287	51,929
Rhode Island	1,396	7,979	17,345	26,336	26,336
Maine	5,657	7,912	11,969	18,149	18,149
New Hampshire	193	4,069	7,074	9,336	9,336

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Which states have the most hail damage claims?

In terms of homeowners insurance losses, hail damage claims don’t get nearly the same attention as tornadoes or other kinds of weather disasters, however hail storms are a quiet (and costly) risk that all homeowners should be aware of.

If you live in certain parts of the country — particularly in Tornado and Dixie Alleys — consider hail-proofing your house by installing storm shutters or panels to your windows and doors. If hail had a favorite victim, your roof would probably top its list, so make sure you’re getting your roof inspected regularly if you live in any of the following states. 

State	Total hail damage claims (2017–2019)
Texas	637,977
Colorado	380,066
Nebraska	161,374
Minnesota	150,673
Illinois	150,416
Kansas	147,793
Missouri	133,704
Iowa	113,139
Indiana	63,892
North Carolina	58,342

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Which states have the most dog bite claims?

While you may consider your dog to be your best friend, your insurance company might consider it a significant liability risk. In fact, some homeowners insurance companies will go so far as to not insure homes with certain dog breeds or, at best, exclude breeds like Rottweilers, German shepherds, and pit bulls from coverage.

Although this might seem unfair, dog bite liability claims cost insurers a lot of money: Dog bite claims cost a total of $882 million in 2021.

Here are the top 10 states with the highest number of dog bite claims along with the average cost per claim in 2021, according to the III. [11]

State	Number of dog bite claims in 2021	Average cost per claim
California	2,026	$59,561
Florida	1,478	$54,820
Texas	1,003	$39,884
New York	900	$68,203
Michigan	892	$48,258
Illinois	844	$56,292
Pennsylvania	777	$47,353
Ohio	732	$41,499
New Jersey	611	$49,981
Arizona	489	$45,059

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Homeowners insurance costs by state

The average cost of homeowners insurance is $1,754 per year, but insurance costs vary considerably by state. For example, states located on the Atlantic Coast or in a tornado-prone region have higher average annual premiums than landlocked states with more mild weather. 

Here’s the average annual premium for homeowners insurance by state, according to our analysis of rate data from across the country.

State	Average annual cost	Average monthly cost
Alabama	$2,063	$172
Alaska	$1,446	$120
Arizona	$1,897	$158
Arkansas	$3,391	$283
California	$1,565	$130
Colorado	$2,496	$208
Connecticut	$1,571	$131
Delaware	$980	$82
District of Columbia	$1,154	$96
Florida	$2,643	$220
Georgia	$1,988	$166
Hawaii	$486	$40
Idaho	$1,363	$114
Illinois	$2,053	$171
Indiana	$2,045	$170
Iowa	$1,830	$153
Kansas	$3,159	$263
Kentucky	$2,705	$225
Louisiana	$2,719	$227
Maine	$1,103	$92
Maryland	$1,733	$144
Massachusetts	$1,382	$115
Michigan	$1,712	$143
Minnesota	$1,966	$164
Mississippi	$2,919	$243
Missouri	$2,876	$240
Montana	$2,778	$231
Nebraska	$4,567	$381
Nevada	$1,239	$103
New Hampshire	$974	$81
New Jersey	$926	$77
New Mexico	$1,792	$149
New York	$1,186	$99
North Carolina	$1,678	$140
North Dakota	$1,908	$159
Ohio	$1,586	$132
Oklahoma	$4,331	$361
Oregon	$943	$79
Pennsylvania	$1,303	$109
Rhode Island	$1,470	$122
South Carolina	$1,793	$149
South Dakota	$2,426	$202
Tennessee	$2,526	$211
Texas	$3,080	$257
Utah	$949	$79
Vermont	$1,046	$87
Virginia	$1,516	$126
Washington	$1,280	$107
West Virginia	$1,499	$125
Wisconsin	$1,211	$101
Wyoming	$1,599	$133

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States where home insurance costs are going up the most

Homeowners insurance premiums in the U.S. increased an average of 21% nationally from May 2022 to May 2023, according to the 2023 policycentral Home Insurance Pricing Report. Florida homeowners faced an average premium increase of 35% at renewal, followed by Idaho at 31% and Colorado at 30%. 

Here are the top 5 states where home insurance costs are rising the most.

Homeowners insurance costs by company

Here we break down how much some of the best home insurance companies charge on average for a homeowners insurance policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage. 

Home insurance company	Average annual cost
Auto owners	$1,283
Erie	$1,346
USAA	$1,432
American Family	$1,491
Allstate	$1,596
Chubb	$1,922
Nationwide	$1,955
State Farm	$2,039
Progressive	$2,618
Travelers	$3,638

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Methodology

policycentral has analyzed home insurance rates provided by Quadrant Information Services in March 2022 for ZIP codes in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., for a 40-year-old female homeowner with no claim history, good credit, a $1,000 deductible, and the following coverage limits:

• Dwelling: $300,000

• Other structures: $30,000

• Personal property: $150,000

• Loss of use: $60,000

• Liability: $300,000

• Medical: $1,000

All rates based on the above coverage limits except where otherwise noted.

Some carriers may be represented by affiliates or subsidiaries. Rates provided are a sample of costs. Your actual quotes may differ.