Rates have been skyrocketing and property owners have been losing their coverage
Residents of Colorado have been battling their way through the state’s home insurance market as rates head consistently skyward and coverage becomes increasingly difficult to get.
The trend has been having an impact on the real estate market
State residents seeking to buy a property or even simply wanting to keep the one they already have, have been facing new struggles, as they have been peppered with high prices, high interest rates, and massive property taxes. Beyond that, the home insurance rates have been blasting off in the state, sending the price of homeownership even further out of reach of many people.
According to recent reports in the Denver Post, consumers have been reporting increases to their premiums ranging from around 30 percent to over 130 percent across the last few years.
Many home insurance customers have lost their coverage altogether
Insurers in the state have been sending letters to many customers with the news that they would not be renewing their policies. While some insurers have been cutting back on the number of higher risk properties they are covering, while others have chosen to cease writing new policies.
Condo owners in particular have been facing special assessments and higher monthly fees because homeowners’ associations have also been experiencing spikes in their premiums. Typically, these groups end up with non-standard carriers, and as a result, they’re charged exceptionally high rates for smaller amounts of coverage.
“We truly have the hardest market that we’ve seen in a generation for property insurance,” said Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association Executive Director of Trade Organization Carole Walker.
This is a rising trend in states throughout the country
At the same time that Colorado residents have been battling with the home insurance market struggles in their state, consumers across the United States have been contending with similar battles.
Florida, California, and Louisiana are all examples of states that have been facing massive challenges in their coverage markets, with particular issues with high rates and difficulties obtaining coverage at all. In fact, those markets are frequently referred to as being in a crisis.