Texans paying more for homeowners' insurance because of intense storms

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The state of Florida's imploding insurance market has dominated headlines in the wake of Hurricane Milton's aftermath.

According to ABC13 meteorologist Rachel Briers, climate change is warming the Gulf of Mexico's water, causing more frequent and intense storms. The storms have also impacted Texas' insurance market.

Insurance premiums for Texans jumped 27% from May 2022 to May 2023 and the previous year, they jumped 16%, according to Rice University's Kinder Institute.

"At this point, we're getting so many natural disasters, insurance companies, they're having trouble even trying to keep up," Briers explained.

RELATED: A risky business: Customers are facing high costs to insure Gulf Coast properties

Heather Hicks, whose home was destroyed in storms this May, told ABC13 that home insurance premiums have skyrocketed in her Harmon Creek neighborhood.

"People just really can't afford it anymore," she said.

Hicks said her pricey insurance denied her family's claims after Hurricane Harvey. She said her family had to pay approximately $30,000 out-of-pocket to recover.

Hicks, whose family moved into a family member's RV after May's storm, said they're now planning to move instead of rebuild.

"We just can't go through that again. We can't. We don't have the money and everything to rebuild," she explained.

SEE ALSO: Conroe family says insurance company not paying money for storm damage repairs

Displaced by climate change, the Hicks family are considered "climate refugees."

It is a population Briers expects to grow over the next "10 to 20 years."

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