Insurance Availability Stress by State

High premiums are the visible part of the homeowners insurance market. The bigger story for 2026 buyers is availability — carriers paused, FAIR Plans growing, non-renewal letters in the mail. This page composites NAIC pricing, FEMA hazard exposure, FEMA NFIP claim ratios, and curated carrier-pullback flags into a 0–100 availability stress score. Carriers run this analysis privately; here it is publicly.

Highest stress California Score 100 · severe carrier pressure · $1,784 current premium
States in severe stress 13 3 more in "high" + 8 in "moderate"
U.S. states tracked 50 via NAIC + FEMA + DOI public records

States ranked by insurance availability stress

Score blends current price with carrier exit signals. CA / FL / LA are the obvious top tier. The next tier — coastal NC, wildfire-interface CO, tornado-belt OK — is where the next round of non-renewals will hit.

# State Score Status Premium Hazard Recent FEMA NFIP Claim Ratio Carrier Pressure
1 California 100 Severe — coverage hard to find $1,784 Very High 427 — severe
2 Colorado 100 Severe — coverage hard to find $3,349 Relatively Moderate 167 1.89% high
3 Florida 100 Severe — coverage hard to find $4,231 Relatively High 979 — severe
4 Kansas 100 Severe — coverage hard to find $3,931 Relatively Low 461 — moderate
5 Louisiana 100 Severe — coverage hard to find $3,600 Relatively Moderate 1,132 — severe
6 Nebraska 100 Severe — coverage hard to find $4,148 Relatively Low 372 3.34% moderate
7 Oklahoma 100 Severe — coverage hard to find $4,334 Relatively Moderate 552 5.30% moderate
8 Texas 100 Severe — coverage hard to find $3,875 Relatively High 1,349 3.47% high
9 Alabama 94 Severe — coverage hard to find $2,738 Relatively Moderate 379 6.60% moderate
10 Mississippi 93 Severe — coverage hard to find $2,756 Relatively Low 762 5.73% moderate
11 North Carolina 87 Severe — coverage hard to find $2,074 Relatively Moderate 809 — high
12 Missouri 84 Severe — coverage hard to find $2,417 Relatively Moderate 409 13.80% low
13 Tennessee 81 Severe — coverage hard to find $2,423 Relatively Moderate 741 3.64% low
14 South Carolina 73 High — carriers pulling back $2,297 Relatively Moderate 449 — moderate
15 Georgia 67 High — carriers pulling back $2,330 Relatively Moderate 849 — low
16 Kentucky 65 High — carriers pulling back $2,624 Relatively Moderate 1,226 — low
17 New York 63 Moderate — surcharges + restrictions $1,844 Relatively Moderate 252 6.60% low
18 Arizona 60 Moderate — surcharges + restrictions $2,247 Relatively Moderate — — moderate
19 Minnesota 59 Moderate — surcharges + restrictions $2,007 Relatively Moderate 339 6.90% low
20 South Dakota 59 Moderate — surcharges + restrictions $2,734 Relatively Low 377 — low
21 Arkansas 58 Moderate — surcharges + restrictions $2,562 Relatively Low 476 — low
22 North Dakota 58 Moderate — surcharges + restrictions $2,329 Very Low 281 6.75% low
23 Illinois 57 Moderate — surcharges + restrictions $2,087 Relatively High 249 — low
24 Virginia 51 Moderate — surcharges + restrictions $1,708 Relatively Low 572 3.09% low
25 Iowa 47 Low — standard market accessible $1,843 Relatively Low 330 6.36% low
26 New Mexico 45 Low — standard market accessible $2,047 Relatively Low 194 — moderate
27 Michigan 43 Low — standard market accessible $2,064 Relatively Moderate 223 — low
28 Washington 43 Low — standard market accessible $1,417 Relatively Moderate 330 — low
29 Montana 42 Low — standard market accessible $2,341 Relatively Low 233 — low
30 Wisconsin 39 Low — standard market accessible $1,502 Relatively Moderate 173 3.98% low
31 Massachusetts 38 Low — standard market accessible $1,955 Relatively Low 55 4.39% low
32 Oregon 38 Low — standard market accessible $1,327 Relatively Moderate 213 — moderate
33 Pennsylvania 33 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,443 Relatively Moderate 160 — low
34 Rhode Island 32 Minimal — broad coverage available $2,301 Very Low 34 — low
35 West Virginia 32 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,494 Relatively Low 228 9.95% low
36 Wyoming 32 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,708 Very Low 59 1.51% low
37 Indiana 30 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,648 Relatively Moderate 315 — low
38 Nevada 30 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,591 Relatively Low 112 0.95% low
39 Ohio 29 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,516 Relatively Moderate 187 — low
40 Maine 28 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,369 Very Low 678 — low
41 New Jersey 28 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,530 Relatively Moderate 104 — low
42 Connecticut 26 Minimal — broad coverage available $2,028 Relatively Low 69 — low
43 Hawaii 24 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,270 Relatively Low 31 2.14% low
44 Maryland 19 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,776 Relatively Low 75 — low
45 Alaska 15 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,300 Relatively Low 180 — low
46 Idaho 13 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,360 Relatively Low 122 — low
47 Vermont 13 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,120 Very Low 127 — low
48 Utah 12 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,210 Relatively Low 102 — low
49 New Hampshire 10 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,270 Very Low 46 — low
50 Delaware 9 Minimal — broad coverage available $1,376 Very Low 11 — low

States with active carrier pullback (2026Q1)

Verbatim signals we track. Add a state by editing src/lib/carrier-pressure.js and citing the DOI bulletin or trade press source.

  • severe California. State Farm and Allstate paused new homeowners policies in 2023; Liberty Mutual and Farmers restricted; FAIR Plan exposure tripled 2018–2024. CDI moratorium on cancellations after major wildfires (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10 § 2695.7).
  • high Colorado. Wildfire-urban-interface counties (Boulder, El Paso, Larimer) see frequent non-renewals. Colorado FAIR Plan launched 2025.
  • severe Florida. Largest insurer by exposure is Citizens (state residual market). 30+ carriers exited or were placed in receivership 2022–2024. SB 2-A 2022 reforms still settling.
  • moderate Kansas. Hail / wind exposure; carriers shifting to wind/hail deductibles 2–5% of dwelling value.
  • severe Louisiana. Multiple carrier insolvencies post-Hurricane Ida 2021. State Farm and Allstate pulled new policies in coastal parishes. Citizens-equivalent (LA Citizens) growing.
  • moderate Nebraska. Hail-prone; rising premiums; some carriers reducing exposure in eastern counties.
  • moderate Oklahoma. Tornado + hail capital — premiums highest in the U.S. and rising. Carriers restrict roof coverage to ACV vs RCV more aggressively.
  • high Texas. Coastal counties pay 2–3x state-average premiums. Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) covers Tier 1 coast as residual market; 2023–2024 capacity strained.
  • moderate Alabama. Coastal Mobile + Baldwin counties via Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association (AIUA).
  • moderate Mississippi. Coastal counties pay through Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association (MWUA) residual market.
  • high North Carolina. NC Beach Plan / Coastal Property Insurance Pool growing; coastal county availability tightening 2023–2024.
  • moderate South Carolina. SC Wind & Hail Underwriting Association covers coastal residual market.
  • moderate Arizona. Wildfire interface counties (Coconino, Yavapai, Gila) seeing non-renewals; price increases 15–25% per year recent.
  • moderate New Mexico. Hermits Peak / Calf Canyon fires (2022) resulted in carrier reassessment statewide.
  • moderate Oregon. Wildfire risk maps + carrier pullback in southern + central counties (Jackson, Josephine, Deschutes) accelerating 2023–2024.

Method & honest limits

  • Five-component composite. NAIC premium (vs $1,500 baseline), FEMA NRI hazard score (vs 50 baseline), FEMA recent disaster declarations, NFIP claim-to-policy ratio, and a curated carrier-pullback score from public DOI announcements.
  • Carrier-pullback flag is curated, not feed-driven. No public API publishes carrier moratoriums in real time. Our carrier-pressure.js file is updated when DOIs publish; PRs welcome via GitHub.
  • State-grain only. Carriers price + restrict by ZIP, distance-to-coast, distance-to-WUI, and roof age. A "moderate" state has high-stress and low-stress sub-state pockets.
  • Excludes earthquake + flood as separate lines. CA earthquake is sold via CEA; flood by NFIP. Severe-stress states often require these on top of the homeowner line.
  • FAIR Plan / state-residual coverage. When the standard market closes, FAIR Plans (CA), Citizens (FL), TWIA (TX coast), and similar state pools pick up. They cost more and cover less. A "severe" score implies you'll likely need one.

Sources: NAIC, FEMA National Risk Index, FEMA Disaster Declarations, FEMA NFIP, state DOI press releases. Carrier-pullback list maintained by HomeStats with citation.

Insurance Cost Projection → 10-year climate-adjusted premium forecast. Distress Watch → Forced-sale pressure at the county level. All States → State, county, city, ZIP-level housing market data.