New surveys in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Arizona find three in four homeowners and renters worried about rising premiums; 83–86% say elected officials aren’t doing enough
WASHINGTON, DC – New polling released today by the Insurance Fairness Project and Climate Power shows that the home insurance crisis is hitting families hard across five key states and that voters are fed up with inaction from both the insurance industry and the officials who are supposed to hold them accountable.
Conducted across Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Arizona, the surveys found that roughly three in four homeowners and renters are concerned about their home insurance costs rising in the next three years. Approximately half of homeowners—51% in Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska; 49% in North Carolina; and 48% in Arizona—say cost is their single biggest concern about their coverage. Between one in four and one in three respondents in each state say rising premiums have forced them to delay a major purchase or expense. The majority of respondents said extreme weather has become more frequent and overwhelming majorities said elected officials and insurers are doing ‘too little’ to mitigate disaster risks for homeowners.
“These numbers should be a wake-up call for every elected official in Arizona, North Carolina, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa,” said Kyle Herrig, spokesperson for Unlocking America’s Future. “Insurance companies have spent years jacking up premiums, abandoning policyholders, and pocketing record profits while politicians look the other way or make the issue worse. Voters across the political spectrum are dealing with high grocery costs, gas prices, and exorbitant health care premiums, home insurance is piling on the expenses. They want accountability, and they want it now.”
The surveys reveal deep concern about the financial consequences of the insurance crisis: majorities in all three surveys worry that insurance costs will affect their ability to keep, sell, buy, or upgrade a home. Young adults bear a disproportionate burden, with voters under 35 expressing far higher concern about housing stability than those 65 and older in every geography surveyed. Insurers closed nearly half of all claims without payment last year and posted record profits as they stand with climate emissions polluters driving this affordability crisis.
Across the board, frustration with elected officials is remarkably consistent. Between 83% and 86% of voters say officials in their state should be doing more to reduce rising premiums.
Key state findings include:
- In Iowa, 67% of voters say their governor is doing too little — the highest rate of any state surveyed.
- In Nebraska, voters had the highest net concern about rising insurance premiums of any state in the Midwestern survey.
- In North Carolina, 30% of homeowners have delayed a major purchase due to insurance costs, the highest of any state surveyed, and Southern and Coastal NC residents are among the most financially strained.
- In Arizona, Latino respondents registered the highest concern about rising premiums of any demographic group in any survey, with a net concern score of +74.
The full polling memos are available here.
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