Homeowners insurance

Southeast homeowners affected by the storms last fall submitted a combined over 78,500 flood insurance claims to the National Flood Insurance Program.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said insurance companies and banks are already pulling out of disaster-prone areas, which could pose problems.

The FEMA-operated program has over 4.7 million policies in force, and lawmakers have kept it intact via dozens of short-term extensions since 2017.

The nation's largest homeowners insurance providers imposed rate hikes in double-digit percentages last year, led by Farmers' 53.5% increase in Maryland.

The insurance market going into the Jan. 7 catastrophe already had been hit with non-renewals and cancellations -- and an overburdened state-supported insurance plan. A Morningstar analyst said the state insurance commissioner's reform strategy could have turned it around but now faces new obstacles.

Californians have paid relatively less for coverage than homeowners in the storm-stricken Midwest and Southeast regions, according to Intercontinental Exchange.

Verisk and Moody's are the first two modeling companies to submit their models to the California Department of Insurance. A Verisk executive explained the functioning of their model and what insurers' options are.

A trio of blazes in SoCal have destroyed over 2,000 homes and structures in neighborhoods with average property values well above the national average.

Fifteen percent of residences had three or more structures, which can go undetected by insurers even when they identify a secondary structure.

The average surplus premium to protect property this year was roughly $46,000 in the wealthy enclave and the situation is only likely to worsen as climate change ups the odds of destructive wildfires.

Losses related to natural disasters and other perils rose for the seventh year, and that costs both insurers and consumers more money, LexisNexis said.

As this year's natural disasters bring heightened attention to the cost and availability of homeowners insurance, servicers often find themselves caught in the middle when customers see premium hikes.

Over 4 million residents in the region, both coastal and inland, face dangers similar to residents in Hurricane-weary Florida, Louisiana and Texas.

The 13 largest homeowners insurance underwriters denied almost half of their climate-related claims last year, adding to property owner and mortgage servicer woes.

How challenges created by climate change and some regulations related to it can create new avenues for business according to Chief Credit Risk Officer of Planet Home Lending.

Risks include pushing debt-to-income ratios too high for qualifying and rising costs leading to defaults, all of which affect the secondary markets.

Soaring insurance costs may add to escrowed funds that servicers can earn money on in some cases, but higher premiums also could lead to affordability issues.

One California insurer received an approved rate change for 56.4%, an increase affecting over 17,000 borrowers.

Borrowers are reacting to more media coverage of wider windstorm activity and events like a Tri-State earthquake, experts said.

InnSure executive director shares how communities can combat higher rates and mitigate climate risk by taking control of their insurability.