After years of rising premiums, Louisiana’s property/casualty insurance market posted its first broad rate relief this decade in 2025. A new Triple-I Issues Brief examines the drivers behind this shift and points to reforms needed to keep up the momentum.
Premium rates decreased statewide across all lines combined by an average of 0.4% in 2025, compared to consistent increases between 2021 and 2024. The sharpest turnaround came in private passenger auto, resulting in a statewide premium reduction of more than $340 million.
While homeowners insurance rates continued to rise, writers of the coverage are filing more rate decreases and fewer, less costly rate increases than in recent years, in part reflecting rising competition from the 17 insurers who have joined the state’s homeowners market since 2024.
Despite these improvements, combined ratio trends for homeowners’ insurers in the state underscore how much work remains. Though the line welcomed its fourth consecutive year of a combined ratio under 100 in 2025, hurricane-related losses caused the ratio to soar in 2020 and 2021, curbing full market recovery for decades to come. As such, the five-year average combined ratio in 2025 more than doubles the annual combined ratio to 130.5, representing a loss.
State lawmakers target cost drivers
Louisiana’s affordability challenges stem in part from a high rate of claims litigation, including a personal auto claims litigation rate more than twice the U.S. average. Bodily injury claims in the Pelican State are similarly disproportionate, at nearly double the U.S. average, as highlighted by Triple-I’s awareness campaign on the impacts of legal system abuse on Louisiana families and businesses.
A key player behind the litigation rate is misuse of assignment of benefits (AOB), or the practice by which policyholders sign over to a third party – a contractor, attorney, or public adjuster – their right to bill an insurance company directly for repairs or other services. Building on a broad AOB ban passed in 2023, Louisiana legislators recently enacted a law that includes claims for auto glass damage, a major source of fraud.
Based on model legislation from the National Council of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL), the law is one of several introduced throughout the country, including in Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, and Utah.
Another May 2026 measure expanded funding and eligibility for the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program, which offers homeowners up to $10,000 grants to upgrade their roofs to standards for severe storm and hurricane resilience. Secured with $80 million for 2026, the program is now available to residents in parishes farther inland to help mitigate rising flood risk among non-coastal communities.
While these efforts are starting to bear fruit on insurance premiums, overall expected losses will need to be reduced for insurance affordability to further improve statewide. Continued reforms targeting excess litigation and fraud are essential to promoting an insurance market accessible to all consumers.
Loretta Worters, Vice President, Media Relations, Triple-I
Lightning may last only a fraction of a second, but the damage it leaves behind can linger for months and cost thousands of dollars to repair.
U.S. insurers paid an estimated $1.65 billion in lightning-related homeowners insurance claims in 2025, a 59 percent increase from the $1.04 billion paid in 2024. The number of claims rose more modestly, up 11.6 percent to 61,986, but the average cost per claim jumped nearly 43 percent, reaching $26,616.
The findings, released during National Lightning Safety Awareness Week, highlight a growing challenge for homeowners. Lightning losses are becoming significantly more expensive, even when storms themselves are not necessarily becoming more frequent.
Several factors are contributing to rising claim costs. Inflation has increased the cost of labor, building materials and replacement parts, while reconstruction costs remain elevated across much of the country. At the same time, homeowners are insuring larger homes, more valuable personal property, and increasingly complex household systems, all of which can add to repair and replacement costs when lightning strikes.
Broader economic pressures, including rising reconstruction costs, inflation and legal system abuse, continue to drive up the cost of property losses across the country. These trends are making lightning-related claims more expensive and reinforcing the importance of preparedness and resilience.
The numbers illustrate the trend clearly. Since 2017, the average lightning claim has increased nearly 147 percent, rising from $10,781 to $26,616.
States Seeing Greatest Impact
Florida once again led the nation in lightning-related homeowners insurance claims, recording 5,167 claims in 2025. California and Texas also ranked among the highest number of claims.
Texas stood out for another reason. It generated the highest total insured losses, nearly $253 million, and the highest average claim severity among the leading states, with an average loss of $60,382 per claim.
More than half of all lightning-related homeowners claims originated from the nation’s top 10 states, underscoring how concentrated lightning risk remains in certain regions.
The increase in lightning-related losses is occurring against the backdrop of rising insured losses from severe convective storms (SCS), a category of weather events that includes thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, straight-line winds and lightning.
While hurricanes often generate the largest individual catastrophes, severe convective storms occur far more frequently and affect communities across much of the country. In recent years, they have become one of the insurance industry’s most significant sources of property losses, causing billions of dollars in damage annually.
Lightning is one of the many ways severe thunderstorms can damage homes and businesses. A single storm can produce hail, damaging winds, flooding rainfall and lightning strikes, creating multiple pathways for property damage. As rebuilding and repair costs continue to rise, even relatively localized events can result in substantial insured losses.
The growing cost of lightning claims serves as another reminder that resilience and preparedness matter. Taking steps to strengthen homes, protect electrical systems, and reduce exposure to weather-related risks can help homeowners recover more quickly and may lessen the financial impact of future storms.
Lightning Damage Extends Beyond Direct Strikes
Many homeowners associate lightning damage with dramatic images of homes directly struck. In reality, some of the most common losses stem from secondary effects. Power surges created by nearby strikes can travel through electrical, cable and telephone lines, damaging expensive electronics, appliances, HVAC systems, and other household equipment. In some cases, the damage may not be immediately apparent.
Lightning damage, such as fire, is generally covered by standard homeowners, condo, renters, and business insurance policies. Some homeowners policies also provide coverage for power surges that result directly from a lightning strike.
The financial toll of lightning may be even greater than the claims data suggests. When lightning ignites a fire, the resulting insurance claim is often categorized as a fire loss – rather than a lightning loss – because most of the damage stems from the fire itself. As a result, some losses that originate with a lightning strike may not be reflected in lightning-specific claims statistics. In wildfire-prone regions, lightning can also serve as an ignition source for catastrophic fires, further expanding its economic impact.
California’s August 2020 lightning outbreak provides an important example of how lightning can contribute to losses that extend well beyond those captured in homeowners insurance claims. More than 12,000 lightning strikes over several days ignited hundreds of wildfires, many of which merged into large fire complexes. The fires burned millions of acres and destroyed thousands of structures, demonstrating how lightning-related events can generate impacts across entire regions.
The Lightning Protection Institute (LPI) notes that lightning strikes occur at an astonishing rate of approximately 100 times every second worldwide.
While most strikes never result in property damage, the frequency of lightning activity underscores the need for preparedness. Lightning can affect homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure, causing damage through direct strikes, fires and power surges.
The increase in lightning-related losses serves as a reminder that resilience investments made before a storm arrives can help reduce damage and speed recovery. Properly installed lightning protection and surge protection systems can significantly reduce risk and help protect people and property.
Lightning protection systems are designed to intercept a lightning strike and safely direct the electrical energy into the ground. A complete system typically includes air terminals (lightning rods), conductors, bonding components and grounding systems that work together to reduce the risk of fire, structural damage and electrical system failures. While no system can prevent lightning from occurring, properly designed and installed lightning protection systems can significantly reduce the potential for damage to homes, businesses and critical infrastructure.
Building Resilience Before the Next Storm
Lightning may be unavoidable, but many losses are preventable. Homeowners can reduce their exposure by:
Installing whole-home surge protection systems.
Using point-of-use surge protectors for sensitive electronics.
Having electrical systems inspected and maintained regularly.
Considering professionally installed lightning protection systems and whole-home surge protection in high-risk areas.
Creating home inventories to simplify insurance claims if damage occurs.
Reviewing insurance policies to understand coverage for lightning-related losses.
Resilience begins long before storm clouds appear. In addition to installing surge protection and maintaining electrical systems, homeowners can review their insurance coverage annually, document personal belongings through home inventories, trim trees and branches near structures, and develop family emergency plans.
These measures may not prevent lightning from striking, but they can reduce damage, speed recovery and help families return to normal more quickly after a loss. As weather-related risks continue to evolve, preparedness remains one of the most effective tools homeowners have to protect their property and financial security.
The latest lightning loss data shows that preparation is not just about safety. It is also about protecting families from potentially significant financial losses.
By Jeff Dunsavage, Head of Research Publications and Insights, Triple-I
Oklahoma homeowners insurance premiums are escalating due to a range of factors. A new Triple-I Policy Brief discusses the drivers of this trend and cautions state legislators to make sure any attempts to contain these rising costs target its underlying causes.
“Because insurance is integral to the total cost of homeownership, lawmakers often find themselves under pressure from constituents to rein in premiums,” the brief says. “Unfortunately, their efforts often lead to policies that would hurt consumers, rather than help them. It is important for policymakers to understand the causes of premium increases and to let that understanding inform decision making.”
Oklahoma is among the least affordable states for home insurance coverage (ranked 48th, with 3.45% of household income spent), according to data from the Insurance Research Council (IRC). IRC, like Triple-I, is an affiliate of The Institutes.
Rising costs of materials and labor to repair and replace damaged or lost property have been major drivers of increasing premium rates. Legal system abuse and claims fraud also play a substantial role in rising rates nationally. Roof replacement fraud is a rapidly worsening problem nationally, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), and the Oklahoma attorney general’s office has called roofing scams “the most common complaint submitted by consumers.”
Following particularly severe weather in April, the attorney general warned Oklahomans to be vigilant of contractor fraud.
“In the aftermath of severe weather, scammers often target vulnerable homeowners trying to recover and rebuild,” said Attorney General Gentner Drummond. “While it is natural to want to make repairs quickly, taking the time to choose a reputable contractor is critical to protecting your home and finances.”
While it may be politically tempting to address a state’s affordability issues by imposing more regulatory constraints on insurers Triple-I warns that states that have tried such approaches have shown they are neither effective nor sustainable.
For Oklahoma, addressing the severity of weather-related claims is key to moderating rate increases. Risk management programs like Strengthen Oklahoma Homes – which provides grants to Oklahoma residents for residential wind and hail mitigation on new and existing, owner-occupied, primary residence single-family homes – is a great start. Modeling the success of the Strengthen Alabama Homes initiative, funding for Oklahoma’s program comes from the insurance industry and is not funded by the state’s general budget.
“The property/casualty insurance industry is an essential partner in addressing states’ affordability crises,” the Triple-I brief says. “States that work with the industry can expect more effective, more sustainable results than those that only attack the symptoms instead of the underlying cost drivers.”
By Loretta L. Worters, Vice President, Media Relations, Triple-I
Roof damage is a leading driver of insured losses and recovery costs. When a roof fails, the damage rarely stops there. Water intrusion can destroy interiors, equipment, inventory, and critical infrastructure, often leading to business interruptions, displacement, and significant financial hardship.
As hurricanes, hailstorms, tornadoes, wildfires, and other disasters become more frequent and costly, strengthening roofs is one of the most effective ways to reduce damage, improve resilience, and support long-term insurance affordability. For homeowners and businesses alike, a resilient roof is the first line of defense against nature’s most destructive forces.
That is why organizations such as the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are increasingly aligned around a simple but powerful principle: investment in resilience works.
These organizations bring complementary strengths. IBHS provides scientific research and testing that underpin resilient roofing practices; Triple-I helps consumers, businesses, policymakers, and the media understand the connection between mitigation, risk reduction, and insurance affordability; and SBA supports small-business preparedness, resilience, and recovery through financing, technical assistance, and disaster assistance programs. Working together, they help translate research into action and encourage broader adoption of proven roof mitigation strategies.
Small improvements make a difference
IBHS research has consistently shown that relatively modest roof upgrades can dramatically reduce storm damage and insurance losses. Improvements like stronger roof deck attachments, sealed roof decks, impact-resistant roofing materials, enhanced edge protection, and improved water barriers help buildings better withstand severe weather. These upgrades are often most cost-effective when incorporated into roof replacement.
One of the most successful resilience initiatives is IBHS’s FORTIFIED™ program, a voluntary construction and re-roofing standard designed to strengthen buildings against severe weather. By enhancing roof performance and reducing the risk of water intrusion, FORTIFIED™ standards help close the gap between minimum building-code requirements and true resilience. As evidence of their effectiveness grows, more insurers and communities are embracing these standards to reduce losses and speed recovery after disasters.
Triple-I helps consumers and policymakers understand that insurance affordability is increasingly linked to reducing preventable losses before disasters occur, while highlighting the economic benefits of resilience investments. Through Triple-I’s educational outreach and resources, property owners can make more informed decisions about protecting their homes and businesses.
Small businesses at risk
Small businesses are especially vulnerable to roof-related losses. A severe storm can interrupt operations for weeks or months, damaging inventory, equipment, technology systems, and customer relationships. This is where SBA can play a transformative role. Financing options, resilience-focused partnerships, technical assistance, and mitigation programs can help overcome one of the biggest barriers to adoption: Upfront cost. Investing in stronger roofs is not simply a construction decision—it is an economic resilience strategy that helps businesses remain operational, communities recover faster, and local economies remain stronger after disasters.
Reducing disaster losses requires collaboration across the public and private sectors. Stronger roofs are more than a construction upgrade—they are an investment in economic stability, community resilience, and a more sustainable insurance market. By aligning scientific research, insurance incentives, public education, and financing support, organizations such as IBHS, Triple-I, and SBA can help drive meaningful change. The question is no longer whether mitigation works. The evidence is clear. The next step is creating the awareness, incentives, and financing needed to make resilient construction the norm rather than the exception.
Property owners seeking practical guidance can access Triple-I’s Roof Toolkit, IBHS’s Roofing Roadmaps, and SBA disaster loans, which can be increased by up to 20% to fund mitigation improvements, such as roof upgrades. Borrowers have up to two years from the date of loan approval to request mitigation funding. Together, these resources provide actionable information and financial support to help strengthen roofs and reduce disaster-related losses.
By William Nibbelin, Head of Industry Data and Actuarial Science, Triple-I
After years of significant financial strain, the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) insurance industry is showing strong signs of recovery and stabilization. According to the latest Insurance Economics and Underwriting Projections: A Forward View report from Triple-I and Milliman, the industry’s net combined ratio (NCR) reached its lowest level in more than a decade in 2025, reflecting improved underwriting conditions as the sector navigates the tail-end of post-pandemic economic volatility and hyperinflation.
Economic Outlook
While the industry maintains demonstrated resilience, the economic environment signals greater uncertainty. Real GDP growth slowed to 2.0 percent in the first quarter of 2026, while inflation remained above the Federal Reserve’s target at 3.3 percent in March. Triple-I Chief Economist and Data Scientist Michel Léonard, Ph.D., CBE, emphasized the cost drivers behind these results, explaining they “should be viewed in the context of the significant financial strain insurers have faced in recent years.”
“Although conditions have stabilized somewhat, insurers continue to operate in an environment marked by elevated catastrophe risk, higher claims severity, and ongoing economic uncertainty,” Léonard said. “Insurance employment declined 1.8 percent year over year in March, underperforming the broader labor market and reflecting continued weakness in sector employment conditions. Meanwhile, higher energy prices and persistent inflationary pressures continue to strain household and business finances.”
A critical factor for future growth is monetary policy. Forecasts for 2027 and 2028 hinge on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions, with a holding pattern currently in place as the market monitors unemployment rates as a barometer for potential rate cuts.
Personal Lines Underwriting Results
The 2025 recovery was most visible in personal lines, which achieved a dramatic turnaround from supply chain-driven losses following the pandemic.
Personal Auto: This segment reported a 2025 NCR of 91.8, a 3.5-point improvement from 2024. Net written premium growth slowed to 4.0 percent, its lowest level since 2021.
Homeowners: Despite an active catastrophe year, including the Los Angeles wildfires in the first quarter, underwriting performance improved significantly. The 2025 NCR of 88.1 was the lowest in over a decade, aided by easing replacement cost pressures and prior pricing discipline.
Commercial Lines Underwriting Results
While property lines flourished, certain commercial lines face ongoing challenges:
Commercial Auto and General Liability: These are the only major lines with an NCR above 100 in 2025. Jason B. Kurtz, FCAS, MAAA, principal and consulting actuary at Milliman, explained that “litigation pressures and claims severity trends continue to result in elevated loss costs, constraining improvement in these segments despite broader industry strength.”
Workers’ Compensation: This line remains a pillar of stability, with projected combined ratios in the low 90s through 2028. For 2025, the preliminary combined ratio is 91, at “an increase of about 5 points from the prior year,” said Donna Glenn, chief actuary at the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). Glenn added this change “is primarily due to an increase in the loss and underwriting expense ratios.”
Forward View
Underlying P/C growth for the first half of 2026 is forecast at -3.7 percent, a significant dip from the 1.6 percent growth in 2025. A recovery is anticipated beginning in 2027.
Replacement costs are a primary area of concern for long-term pricing. Triple-I Chief Insurance Officer Patrick Schmid, Ph.D., noted, “replacement costs moderated significantly from their 2022 peak, but our forecasts show them re-accelerating through 2028 and eventually outpacing overall U.S. inflation.”
While property lines have strengthened, Schmid cautioned that “the industry faces a challenging road ahead with elevated catastrophe exposure, economic uncertainty, and persistent claims-cost pressures.”
New Deep-Dive Resource
To provide members with more granular insights, Triple-I has launched State of the Line Issues Briefs, a monthly series focusing on the nuances of individual segments. These deep dives are designed to help members navigate specific strategic planning challenges beyond high-level quarterly forecasts. In an addendum to the briefing, Triple-I shared key findings from these reports.
For the farmowners’ line, analysis revealed the producer price index for commercial machinery repair acts as a high-correlation leading indicator for premium changes. Additionally, a major structural shift was identified in fire and allied lines, where the standard market share dropped from 66.7 percent in 2016 to just 52.7 percent in 2024, as premiums migrated toward the excess and surplus and residual markets.
Legal system reforms targeting fraud and excess litigation in Florida are helping drive renewed underwriting business and lower premium rates for consumers throughout the state, signaling ongoing improvements in the Sunshine State’s insurance market health, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis.
Post-reform, nearly 20 new property insurers have entered the Sunshine State and existing carriers have expanded their market share, fueling double-digit growth in direct written premiums for many of the state’s largest insurers in 2025. As policyholders shifted to the private market, policies in force for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. – the state-run insurer of last resort and previously the state’s largest residential insurance writer – dropped by 57.8 percent from 2024.
Premiums for Citizens policyholders fell 43.7 percent, alongside extensive premium reductions for thousands of Florida homeowners and drivers across the property/casualty insurance market. Florida’s top five auto insurance groups, for instance, averaged a more than 6 percent rate reduction through mid-year, accounting for 78 percent of the state’s auto market. These reductions have increased to an average of 8 percent based, on the most recent 2026 regulatory filings.
Claims-related litigation has also plummeted, slashing the market’s defense and cost containment expense ratio to 1.9 percent, S&P reported – a major decline from 8.4 percent in 2022, before the 2022 and 2023 reforms were fully implemented. In dollar terms, 2025 saw $537 million in direct incurred legal defense expenses, down from roughly $792 million the prior year and from $1.6 billion in 2022.
Amid decreasing litigation costs, Florida’s residential property insurers recorded over $2 billion in underwriting gains in 2025, with the state’s homeowners’ market posting its highest net income in more than a decade.
Favorable 2025 results are good news, but it’s important for policyholders and policymakers to remember the sustained, industry-wide reform efforts that underpin Florida’s current stability. Despite their measurable benefits to consumers, the reforms have faced repeated legislative attacks, threatening to undo much of this progress.
Florida’s strong market performance also reflects relatively mild catastrophe activity in 2025, including the absence of any U.S. hurricane landfalls. Though the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season is forecast to be “somewhat below normal,” ongoing caution is essential, as just one significant landfall could threaten recent market growth and leave lasting damage.
Compounding these challenges is Florida’s most severe drought in over 25 years, which has produced nearly 2,000 wildfires in 2026 year-to-date and impacted many areas traditionally considered low risk. With wildfire risks still looming, the shift underscores the dynamic headwinds that imperil the state, necessitating continued legislative support of reforms to keep coverage affordable and available in one of the most complex states to insure.
By Jeff Dunsavage, Head of Research Publications and Insights
Senate Bill 1486 – currently moving through the Illinois General Assembly – would unnecessarily burden insurers and hurt the customers it is intended to protect.
“The measure would add new regulatory layers that could impede the accurate pricing of risk while doing nothing to address the underlying causes of rising premiums,” Triple-I said in a recently published Policy Brief. “Premiums are increasing at different rates across the country, reflecting a mix of factors that include climate events, shifting populations, rising costs to repair and replace property, and legal system abuse.”
All these factors drive up the number and the cost of claims and, if not properly addressed, could erode the policyholder surplus insurers are required to keep on hand to pay claims. If surplus declines below levels mandated by regulators, insurers must raise rates or rethink their appetite for writing coverage in riskier states.
Neither option is good for consumers.
If affordability is the goal, the most effective path is cost reduction. Illinois leaders should model the behavior of states that are addressing the root causes of rising insurance premiums – not just treating the symptoms.
The brief also points out that both homeowners’ and personal auto insurance in Illinois is more affordable than the U.S. average, when measured as a ratio of average insurance expenditures to median household income.
Mississippi recently adopted a program that will offer homeowners grants of up to $10,000 for roofs built to the FORTIFIED™ standard, following in the footsteps of states across the country to mitigate the rising frequency and severity of extreme weather.
Developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), the FORTIFIED™ standard can help reduce high wind and hail damage through construction methods like sealing roof decks and anchoring roofs to wall framing using stronger nails. While such standards remain voluntary, many insurers in Mississippi began providing premium discounts for homes that meet the designation, prompting state lawmakers to further incentivize their construction.
The Magnolia State is only the latest to follow Alabama’s lead, which largely pioneered these incentives through its own Strengthen Alabama Homes program, financed by the insurance industry with more than $86 million in grants since 2016. Designed to enhance community resiliency while also lowering insurance rates, completed retrofits earn residents premium discounts ranging from 25 to 55 percent.
Slated to begin accepting applications later this year, Strengthen Mississippi Homes authorizes the state’s insurance department to allocate $15 million a year towards grants and gives the department flexibility in determining grant eligibility as the program rolls out. More than one thousand homes are expected to qualify each year, including in inland areas and along the coast.
Notably, the new grant program builds on the state’s preexisting hurricane-specific mitigation initiative, in part reflecting growing nationwide vulnerability to other perils. While global insured losses fell below average in the first quarter of 2026, Gallagher Re analysis shows that U.S. convective storms were among the largest loss events, including a March tornado outbreak that killed multiple Mississippi residents and caused upwards of a billion dollars in insured damages throughout the Midwestern and Eastern U.S.
Mississippi ranked fourth in the nation for tornado frequency in 2025, at 111 tornadoes, according to data from the National Weather Service. Currently, it ranks second for such activity, at 48.
Modeling what works
Research from the Alabama Department of Insurance, in collaboration with the University of Alabama Center for Insurance Information and Research, has demonstrated the success of Strengthen Alabama Homes. The study found FORTIFIED homes suffered less property damage and fewer insurance claims than homes built using other construction methods when Hurricane Sally made landfall in the state.
Programs modeled on Alabama’s have sprouted throughout the United States, including in coastal Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Farther inland, Oklahoma just opened its program statewide after three pilot launches last year, and Kentucky unveiled its $5 million program for the first time last month. Similar efforts are underway in Minnesota after the state established a grant program in 2023, with full implementation expected during 2026. Arkansas’ program also remains under development.
Insurers have long called for boosting roof resilience within and beyond hurricane-prone regions. IBHS research estimates 70 to 90 percent of storm-related insurance claims involve roof damage, meaning roof upgrades can substantially minimize losses and improve market stability, keeping insurance affordable and available for more homeowners. In addition to making homes safer, the study revealed FORTIFIED™ homes sell for nearly 7 percent more than similar homes with non-FORTIFIED™ roofs.
Mounting demand suggests such improvements are gaining traction even beyond state grant programs. An unprecedented 20,000-plus designations were issued in 2025 alone, at a 20 percent increase over the prior year, keeping IBHS on track to reach a nationwide total of 120,000 by the end of 2026.
Insurers paid $1.86 billion in dog-related injury claims in 2025, up by 18.6 percent from 2024, according to research by Triple-I and State Farm.
The total number of dog-bite and related claims was 28,450, a more than 25 percent increase from 2024 and a 57 rise over the past decade. Though the average cost per claim fell to $65,450 – a 5.5 percent decrease from $69,272 in 2024 – costs also remained at a 97 percent rise over the past decade.
California and Florida continued to see the most claims in 2025 from 2024, with more than 2,000 claims in each state. New York filed the highest average cost per claim, at $92,154, followed by Connecticut and California.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), 45 percent of homes include at least one dog, for a total of approximately 90 million pet dogs in the United States. While most will coexist peacefully with us, dog bites remain a serious public health concern, with more than 4.5 million bites reported each year in the United States.
During National Dog Bite Prevention Week (April 12–18), a coalition of veterinarians, animal behavior experts, and insurance representatives urge the public to understand the risks dog bites pose to people and other pets and the steps required to prevent injuries.
“We’ve seen a 25 percent increase in dog bites in 2025 and yet, most dog bites are preventable. Children are especially vulnerable,” said Janet Ruiz, communications director at Triple-I. “Prevention starts with understanding how dogs communicate and teaching children how to interact with them safely.”
Tips to prevent dog bites
All dogs – even well-trained, gentle dogs – can bite when provoked, especially when eating, sleeping, or caring for puppies. To keep people and pets safe, the National Dog Bite Prevention Week Coalition provides the following tips:
Adopt wisely. Not every dog is a perfect match for every family. Choose a dog suited for your lifestyle and household, including other pets.
Socialize your dog. Try to expose your dogs to new situations gradually and for short periods of time. Arrange for low-stress interactions and give plenty of praise and rewards for good behavior.
Educate yourself in positive training techniques and on the unique needs and behaviors of your dog. Learn the signs that your dog is stressed or uncomfortable and be prepared to advocate for them in all situations.
Always supervise children around dogs, even family pets. More than half of all dog-related injuries are to children.
Always leash your dog on walks and make sure fences and gates are secure if they spend time in a yard.
Keep your pet healthy. Not all illnesses and injuries are obvious, and dogs are more likely to bite if they are sick or in pain. If you haven’t been to the veterinarian in a while, schedule an appointment for a checkup to discuss your dog’s physical and behavioral health.
Pet owners should review their policies with an insurance professional to ensure they have adequate coverage for every pet in the household. Standard homeowners’ and renters’ insurance typically cover dog-bite liability legal expenses up to the liability limits of the policy (usually $100,000 to $300,000), with dog owners responsible for any damages above that amount.
Pet insurance policies can also offer tailored protection for pets from accidents and/or illnesses. While insurers typically do not provide coverage for pre-existing conditions, separate plans may be available for routine preventative care such as vaccines and annual exams.
Colorado State University (CSU) researchers predict a “somewhat below normal” Atlantic hurricane season in their initial 2026 projections, citing the likely development of a robust El Niño event as the primary reason for their forecast of six hurricanes this year.
Led by senior research scientist and Triple-I non-resident scholar Phil Klotzbach, the CSU TC-RAMS team predicts 13 named storms and six hurricanes, two of which will become major hurricanes, or those that reach Category 3 strength or higher. A typical Atlantic season sees 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.
The team’s forecast stems from conditions favorable for a strong El Niño, characterized by above-average ocean temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. Typical El Niño events “tend to increase winds high up in the atmosphere,” Klotzbach explained, which increases levels of vertical wind shear, or changes in wind speed and direction.
Noting “too much shear tears hurricanes apart,” Klotzbach said that “especially when those events are moderate or strong, they cause very significant impacts in Atlantic hurricane activity.”
A potential record-setting super El Niño on the horizon would suggest impacts far beyond the Atlantic, including extreme heat around the globe. Bringing drought to some regions and flooding to others, the event would help suppress Atlantic hurricane activity while boosting hurricane as well as typhoon risks in the Pacific.
But while “the odds of landfall do go down when the forecast is for below normal activity,” Klotzbach emphasized “there have been significant landfalls in seasons that were somewhat below normal.”
For comparison, the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season produced 13 named storms and five hurricanes. Among those five, four became major, including three Category 5 storms – marking only the second year on record that more than two such storms occurred in the Atlantic Basin. Though none made landfall in the U.S., the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa tied with 1980’s Hurricane Allen for the strongest Atlantic Basin landfall by wind speed on record, causing widespread damage throughout the Caribbean.
While the season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, now is the ideal time for families and businesses to review their policies with an insurance professional to ensure they have adequate coverage. Many may be unaware they need flood coverage, which is not part of a standard homeowners, condo, renters, or commercial property insurance policy. Flood policies are offered through FEMA’S National Flood Insurance Program and dozens of private insurers.
Homeowners can also upgrade their residences to voluntary standards for wind and heavy rain resilience, as modeled by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). Retrofitting roofs to IBHS FORTIFIED standards, for instance, has demonstrated success in reducing hurricane damage, prompting numerous state governments to begin providing premium discounts to policyholders with completed retrofits.
