DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Home insurance rates in Iowa increased 28% in the past year – making Iowa the state with the third-highest average rate increase in the nation, a report released Wednesday from Insurify shows.

Insurify predicts rates across the country will continue to increase in 2026, and it pins the increasing frequency of severe weather events as a key contributor to insurance price increases, which on average have risen nearly three times as fast as inflation since 2021.

The average cost of home insurance in Iowa, at $2,802 per year in 2025, remains below the national average. But the report predicts that could change considering the average cost of home insurance in Iowa has gone up by 54% in the past two years. The virtual insurance agency projects the average annual premium for a single-family home in Iowa will increase 4% by the end of 2026.

The report said because of the increase in severe weather across the country, insurers are changing their structures to “shift more financial risk to homeowners” with provisions like hurricane deductibles in certain areas or insuring roofs at cash value, rather than replacement value, in areas prone to hail storms.

The U.S. had $23 billion weather and climate related disasters in 2025, according to a data dashboard at Climate Central, including drought, flooding, wildfires in California and many severe storm cells, some of which hit central states like Iowa with tornadoes, hail and strong winds.

The National Weather Service reported Iowa had 32 tornadoes in 2025, which is below the state’s average of around 50 per year and far below the 125 tornadoes that touched down in 2024.  Premiums across much of the Midwest and Great Plains have risen in recent years, according to the report, because the states are “highly exposed” to convective storms that bring hail, tornadoes and high winds. Because there were no hurricanes that hit the U.S. in 2025, Insurify found that severe convective storms – or thunderstorms – surpassed hurricanes in 2025 as the “costliest driver of global insurer losses” since 2000.

Scientists from across Iowa called on the state in November with their 2025 Iowa Climate Statement, to shift to more renewable energy sources and to update building standards to better cope with mounting insurance premiums. The scientists attributed the rise in insurance premiums to hotter temperatures and more destructive weather events caused by climate change. More storm events mean more home insurance claims are filed and, according to the Insurify report, the cost of repairs has also increased. This translates to insurers charging higher premiums.

Iowa was one of six states that had premiums increase by more than 20% in 2025. Average home insurance premiums increased by 34% in Minnesota, 33% in Colorado, 28% in Iowa, 25% in Nebraska, 24% in Oklahoma and 20% in South Carolina, according to the report. Iowa, however, is not in the top 10 list of states Insurify anticipates will have the highest rate increases in 2026. Those states include California, due to the 2025 wildfires, Nebraska, New Mexico, Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri, Arkansas, Oregon, Illinois and Oklahoma.

Mallory Mooney, the director of sales and service at Insurify, said homeowners and insurers are “getting creative” and looking into products like premium-locking programs, because of the mounting cost. Insurify also suggests homeowners can manage their home insurance premiums by comparing quotes annually and exploring discounts through bundling, customer loyalty programs or for paying premiums in whole. Additionally, an improved credit score can help to lower premium rates.