Home Insurance Warning Issued to Millions of Americans

Nearly one in seven homes in the U.S. are uninsured, according to a new study by LendingTree, as rising premiums have made coverage unaffordable for many and forced them to “go bare,” forsaking protection for their properties entirely.

Why It Matters

As the severity and frequency of natural disasters grows with climate change, experts warn homeowners that insurance is more important than ever, as proven by the Los Angeles wildfires that ravaged the county for over a week in January.

For many locals, having appropriate coverage made the difference between losing everything when their homes burned down in the blazes or being able to rebuild their properties.

What To Know

A total of 11.3 million out of 82.9 million owner-occupied homes in the U.S., or 13.6 percent, are uninsured.

LendingTree reached this number by analyzing the number of owner-occupied homes with an annual home insurance costs of less than $100 in 2023. This was then divided by the total number of owner-occupied homes to calculate the percentage of uninsured homes.

The highest rate of uninsured homes were in New Mexico, with 23.3 percent of homes without insurance coverage, followed by West Virginia (23 percent) and Mississippi (22.9 percent).

McAllen, Texas, had the highest rate of uninsured homes among the U.S. largest metropolitan areas, at 43.3 percent. Another Texas city, El Paso, had the second-highest rate, with 23 percent of uninsured homes, followed by Miami, Florida, with 21 percent.

Miami-Dade County had the highest National Risk Index (NRI) score of all counties in the U.S. (23.5 percent), followed by fellow Florida counties Broward (22.7 percent) and Lee (17.9 percent). The NRI is an online tool created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that shows which communities are most at risk of 18 natural hazards.

Florida is just now emerging from years of crisis after home insurance premiums skyrocketed due to a combination of increased natural disasters, widespread fraud, and excessive litigation.

Texas, on the other hand, has seen an increase in the number of devastating wildfires in recent years, and its home insurance market has been described by an expert to Newsweek as a “ticking time bomb.”

What People Are Saying

LendingTree’s home insurance expert and licensed insurance agent Rob Bhatt said in a statement shared with Newsweek: “For most people, your home is your most important investment. It’s important to protect that investment with insurance. Insurance has become more expensive and harder to get in recent years. This is putting people just one disaster away from losing the physical and financial security their home provides.”

What Happens Next

LendingTree’s study reveals that over 11 million of American homeowners are vulnerable to the possibility of a natural disaster striking their home and leaving them with nothing.

“Having insurance protects you from having to take out a loan to rebuild or having to sell your property at a reduced price due to your home’s structural damage,” Bhatt said. “Insurance protects your equity.”