If you feel like your homeowner’s insurance (HOI) bill is taking a bigger bite of your paycheck than it used to, you’re not alone. That’s because new research from Lending Tree, which was published by Rise Media, says that nearly a third of U.S. homeowners are paying more to insure their homes than they do for their property taxes.
Not only that, but the research has uncovered that insurance now takes up an even bigger chunk of a homeowner’s housing budget in those same states.
The culprit? Increased claims related to climate-change-related natural disasters.
Want to know if your state is on the list? Let’s take a look.
The New Study Shows HOI Costs Are on the Rise
According to Lending Tree, HOI payments typically make up 8.5 percent of the traditional housing costs for homeowners who carry a mortgage. Out of the average $2,354 payment, the financial company says it amounts to roughly $200.
But that’s not true in 15 states across the country, where those figures are much higher.
They include West Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nebraska, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Idaho, Colorado, Arkansas, Arizona, and Alabama.
For example, Nebraska homeowners pay 19.4 percent of their total monthly housing costs to their HOI company, followed by Oklahoma at 17.6 percent.
Meanwhile, several states have residents paying the same amount for their HOI and taxes.
Conversely, These States Have the Lowest HOI Costs
The news isn’t all bad, though, because Rise Media says there are states with lower-than-average HOI costs. Those include Vermont, Hawaii, Delaware, Maine, and West Virginia.
According to Consumer Reports, there are a few ways you can save money on your annual bill. One way involves shopping around for new policies from time to time. According to the publication, 21 percent of the people surveyed said they had switched carriers in the past five years, with 62 percent of those people saying that they had made the change to secure a lower premium.
Some other methods include bundling your coverage (like combining home and auto), keeping a high deductible, and making sure you have good credit.