California homeowners pay 41% below the national average for homeowners insurance, a study from LendingTree shows.
LendingTree’s State of Home Insurance: 2026 report, which is based on rates publicly sourced from insurer filings, shows California homeowners paid an average of $1,413 annually for home insurance compared with the national average of $2,395.
However, homeowners insurance rates in California have risen 53.7% since 2020, the report shows.
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Colorado had the largest cumulative increase in home insurance rates, with costs rising 100.8% from 2020 to 2025. That’s more than double the rise in U.S. homeowners insurance rates, which rose a cumulative 46.8% from 2020 to 2025. Annual increases began accelerating more sharply in 2022, peaking at 12.7% in 2024 before easing slightly n 2025, the report shows.
The average annual cost of homeowners insurance across the U.S. was $2,395. Oklahoma had the highest average rate ($5,298), followed by Nebraska ($4,956) and Colorado ($4,310). Hawaii had the lowest average rate at ($801). followed by Vermont ($924) and New Hampshire ($1,028).
The report blames the climb in rates since 2020 is on a rise in severe weather losses and an increase in the price of labor, materials and repairs.
LendingTree analyzed home insurance data pulled in February 2026 from Quadrant Information Services. The following coverages and deductibles were used: Dwelling coverage ($350,000); [personal liability ($100,000); medical payments ($1,000); deductible ($1,000).
The state’s homeowners insurance crisis took on a bigger focus for regulators and Legislators following the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. Insurers have paid out more than $23.7 billion to residential, commercial, and auto policyholders impacted by the L.A. wildfires, according to the California Department of Insurance.
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The fires were seen as a low in an ongoing homeowners insurance crisis in California. Several carriers pulled back or halted writing new policies in the state, and regulators responded with measures including enabling quicker rate request reviews, allowing forward-looking catastrophe modeling and other steps. As a result, some carriers have returned to writing new homeowners policies.
The Travelers Companies said it intends to expand its homeowners insurance offerings across California. In January, two carriers announced they were working to expand coverage in wildfire-prone regions of the state in exchange for rate hikes. CSAA Mercury Insurance raised rates 6.9%, a move that was approved under the Sustainable Insurance Strategy. Farmers Insurance in late November announced it would eliminate a cap on the number of homeowners insurance policies it offers in California.
Fourteen of 20 most destructive wildfires in California have occurred in the last 10 years. The January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, which included the Eaton and Palisades fires (the second and third worst in state history) cost several large carriers in excess of $1 billion, are seen as a tipping point for the state’s insurance crisis. In response to the L.A. wildfires, several regulatory changes have been enacted and numerous pieces of state legislation were passed or are making their way through Legislature.
Top photo: Firefighters sift through a damaged building after the 2025 Eaton Fire. Photo by CalFire.
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