Wildfire seasons across the West have intensified under hotter, drier conditions, and smoke plumes have repeatedly spread across North America and beyond in recent years. Climate monitors report that global mean sea level hit a new high and 2024 ranked among the warmest years, factors that increase the likelihood of extreme fire weather. Scientific assessments find that human-caused warming is raising the frequency and/or intensity of heatwaves, heavy precipitation, some droughts, and wildfire weather, which elevates the risk of large, destructive fires when fuels are dry and winds are strong (IPCC AR6).
On the other side of the U.S., coastal and inland communities face heavier rainfall, more damaging tropical-cyclone rainfall, and higher baseline water levels from sea‑level rise. Natural disasters are becoming more disruptive in ways consistent with a warming climate. NOAA confirms a long‑running rise in costly events; the U.S. set a record with 28 separate billion‑dollar disasters in 2023, and activity remained exceptionally high in 2024. Globally, natural catastrophes in 2024 caused about US$250 billion in direct economic losses with insured losses again above US$100 billion, and severe convective storms (SCS) were the leading driver of insured losses. Insurers are responding with tighter underwriting, higher peril‑specific deductibles, and expanded risk transfer via reinsurance and record/near‑record use of catastrophe bonds (ILS market data).
Insurance results increasingly reflect elevated catastrophe frequency and inflation‑sensitive repair costs rather than outsized hurricane seasons alone. In 2024, insured losses once again clustered around ~US$100 billion globally, with a majority of economic losses remaining uninsured (a ~50–65% protection gap) according to Swiss Re Institute sigma research. In the U.S., SCS have become the single biggest insured‑loss driver; for historical context, Swiss Re reports U.S. severe convective storms generated roughly US$60 billion of insured losses in 2023, a record for that peril (sigma 2024‑02).
Insurers balance premium and risk by adjusting rates, deductibles, and eligibility where catastrophe loads are high, and by transferring risk to global capital. After significant hardening through 2023, property‑catastrophe reinsurance markets broadly stabilized in 2024, with capacity improving and many renewals near flat to low single‑digit changes, though retentions remain higher than pre‑2023 norms (Aon renewal insights; Gallagher Re 1st View). At the same time, the catastrophe bond/ILS market reached record or near‑record issuance in 2023–2024 and an all‑time‑high outstanding size entering 2025, supporting additional risk transfer (Artemis).
Are Insurers Canceling Homeowners Insurance Policies?
Nonrenewals and eligibility tightening can feel abrupt, especially after years without a claim. But carriers are managing exposure in high‑risk zones such as the wildfire‑exposed wildland–urban interface, hail belts, and hurricane‑prone coasts, where loss costs have risen. COVID‑19 is no longer a primary driver of property insurance availability; the lasting effects are indirect, via labor and materials inflation that raises claim severity, while courts largely curtailed pandemic business‑interruption coverage (COVID Coverage Litigation Tracker; Swiss Re Institute).
Let’s dig deeper. Reinsurance lets insurers share catastrophe risk with global markets. After several high‑loss years, 2024 renewals were more orderly, with improved capacity and risk‑adjusted outcomes around flat to low single digits at many placements; however, retentions and tighter terms remain elevated versus earlier cycles, particularly at lower layers in states with frequent severe convective storms or wildfire (Aon; Gallagher Re). These dynamics flow through to homeowners via premiums, peril‑specific deductibles, and, in some cases, nonrenewals where portfolio concentration is too high.
[ Read: The Best Homeowners Insurance Companies ]
Florida insurance companies saw a 26% increase in their reinsurance premiums on June 1 of 2020. They knew it was coming — somewhat. A.M. Best had forecasted a 15% to 20% rise earlier in the year. Since then, reinsurance costs hardened further into 2023, before broadly stabilizing at the mid‑2024 Florida renewals with many programs renewing around flat to low‑single‑digit changes depending on structure and loss experience (Aon; Gallagher Re). Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, Florida’s insurer of last resort, continues to manage peak hurricane exposure with a mix of traditional reinsurance and catastrophe bonds to support market stability (Citizens program information; Artemis ILS).
According to the Miami Herald, Jimmy Patronis, Florida Chief Financial Officer, had to step in to pressure insurers such as Citizen’s Insurance to hold off on insurance cancellations before the upcoming hurricane season. According to Patronis, “Hurricane season is just beginning to heat up and we are in the middle of an unprecedented health and economic crisis.” He adds, “This is not the time to cancel Citizens’ home insurance policies.” Those affected by the possible cancellations are safe — for now. It’s likely they’ll still get canceled after hurricane season.
How Hard Is It to Get Insured in a High-Risk Area?
Getting insured in a high-risk area is typically harder. Jacques Wong, an insurance advisor with the ReFrame Group, is seeing underwriting requirements tightening. “Insurers are pulling back on their risk appetites and increasing premiums across the board,” he says. He believes it’s due to a few factors, including “a sharp uptick in natural disasters, COVID-19 and the general economic slowdown.”
Wong says, “Insurers, like other businesses, are being really conservative about taking on additional risk and liabilities at this stage.” They may send out assessors to review a property before they approve a homeowner for insurance. Or as the Pew Charitable Trust reports, Californians living in a high-risk zone for wildfires may find coverage but have conditions set for their policy to remain active.
Some of the conditions include wildfire-season preparation, such as regular maintenance of trees and undergrowth on the property. In tornado or hurricane regions, the insurer may require the home to be retrofitted or fortified to wind-resistance standards, or have shutters or other types of protective items installed.
There is no actual guarantee you’ll be insured — you may need to apply to several insurance companies before finding one that agrees to cover you at an affordable price. Once you find a company willing to provide you coverage, be sure to review the “fine print”, such as exclusions, limits and what type of maintenance or management of your property is required to keep your policy active.
If you haven’t purchased a home yet, Wong advises potential homeowners to “take insurance eligibility and affordability into consideration before purchasing a property. This is an area many people miss but can hurt you later on when you have difficulty securing adequate insurance.”
If My Policy Was Canceled, How Can I Get Insured Again?
If your policy was canceled, you could try to renegotiate with your current insurer to keep your policy in force. You may need to meet additional conditions, such as removing brush or landscaping around your home, for example. If the insurer is unwilling to work with you, Wong’s advice is, “If you are denied a renewal, you can often negotiate yourself a 30 to 60-day window, so you have more time to shop the market and find coverage.”
If you’re unable to find reasonable coverage with another insurance company, check with your state for special insurance programs. Some states, such as California, have access to the Fair Access to Insurance Requirement (FAIR) plans for difficult-to-insure perils such as fire, flood or wind damage. You’ll still need to find basic homeowners insurance, with the extra FAIR coverage for the hazard you’re having trouble getting insurance for.
The Bottom Line
Getting home insurance in high-risk areas is getting harder because of the growth in extreme natural disasters and the economic slowdown from the COVID-19 pandemic. You can’t control the weather, but you can take steps to improve your chances of getting — and staying — insured. They include factoring in the cost and likelihood of getting insurance for a home before you buy and negotiating with your insurer if your premiums go up. Make sure to have one or two backup insurance companies on stand-by if you need to replace your current home insurance.
Featured photo by Jose Edelson / AFP / Getty Images.
