Chris Clark

Tue, Jun 24, 2025, 4:45 AM5 min read

Homeowners across Texas are nearly helpless as insurance costs in the state are rising faster than almost anywhere else in the country. Skyrocketing premiums and property taxes are pushing homeowners to the brink and giving prospective buyers serious pause.

Dallas-area resident Doreen Diego says her home insurance premiums have been climbing by $1,000 a year since 2021: “The next year we went to $2,700,” she told Fox 4 News. “The next year we went to $3,700. And our renewal just came up this month. We just paid it at $4,700."

In 2024, the average annual premium in Texas reached around $6,000, nearly double the national average of $3,200. Projections suggest this could rise by another 9%, potentially surpassing $6,500 by the end of 2025. Ballooning premiums are turning homeownership from a dream into a financial stress test, and many residents are asking the same question: What can they do about it?

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A mix of factors is driving insurance rates higher across Texas:

• Frequent severe weather, including hurricanes, hailstorms, tornadoes and floods

• Rising home repair and construction costs

• Inflation, pushing up the price of materials and labor

• Harsh winter storms, which have caused frozen pipes and power grid failures

• Limited competition among insurers, giving consumers fewer options

Nearly 70 disasters — each doing $1 billion or more in damage — have struck Texas in the last five years, data analyst Chase Gardner with Insurify, an insurance comparison company, told KPRC in Houston. “From hurricanes to hailstorms, almost every kind of natural disaster that can damage a home is a threat here.”

Although Texas is one of nine states that doesn’t levy a state income tax, the burden is shifted elsewhere, most notably through property taxes.

Texas homeowners pay an average effective property tax rate of 1.63%, among the highest in the country. Combined with rising insurance premiums, Texans are now paying thousands more annually just to stay in their homes, and realtors say buyers should weigh these costs heavily before moving forward.