A new study by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners reports that once again Texas has the highest homeowners insurance rates in the nation. The burden of these outrageous costs falls especially heavily upon Texas homeowners who are elderly and low income.
The high rates account to a large extent for the extremely high percentage of Texas homeowners whose homes were damaged or destroyed by hurricane’s Rita, Ike, and Dolly who did not have any homeowners insurance. When natural disasters strike uninsured homeowners it is the taxpayers who pick up the tab.
Spokespersons for the Texas insurance industry offer a not particularly conforting response that several states are fast closing on the Texas rates.
As I have said many times before here, this situation is a disgrace and demands the attention of the Texas Legislature.
From a story in today’s Dallas Morning News, here’s a look at the states with the highest average homeowners insurance premiums in 2006, according to a new national study
Texas $1,409 Florida $1,386 Louisiana $1,257 Oklahoma $1,018 Mississippi $998 California $937 Massachusetts $925 Rhode Island $919 Alabama $894 Connecticut $878 National average $804
SOURCE: National Association of Insurance Commissioners
