Sorry, Your Insurance Bill Probably Isn’t Coming Down Much. Here’s Why.

The factors making cars and homes more expensive to insure are difficult to tackle—especially all at once

By Telis Demos of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"A major factor in the U.S., particularly for home insurance, has been patterns in population growth. Faster growth has come in parts of the country more susceptible not just to hurricanes, but also to a range of so-called secondary perils such as floods, tornadoes, hail storms and wildfires in the U.S. South and West, according to a July report on homeowners insurance by AM Best.

The report also noted that shrinking average household size means that a growing population can result in relatively larger rises in real property development and, in turn, insured values. The ratings agency wrote that “one of the major contributors to the rise in insured losses is population migration into areas where weather-related events are occurring more frequently.”"

"Hailstones landing on solar panels can also add to a disaster’s costs."

"growth in utility-scale solar sites in hail-prone states like Texas over the past 10 years means “the industry is starting to see losses that would not have happened with the same amount of hail in the past.”"

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