Sixteen states got a break on home insurance costs this year while the rest of the country kept absorbing increases, according to rate data Insurance.com released on August 27, 2026, in a report distributed nationally through the data-journalism outlet Stacker. The same data set shows one state moving sharply in the other direction: Nebraska, where the average annual premium climbed by nearly $960. The spread between the two groups shows that falling rates in a handful of states are not a sign the broader home insurance market has turned a corner.
Quadrant Information Services Data Shows A 16-State Split
Insurance.com commissioned the rate comparison from its data partner, Quadrant Information Services, pricing a standardized policy in every state and Washington, D.C., for both 2025 and 2026, according to the methodology published alongside the report. The policy used for comparison is an HO-3 homeowners policy on a two-story, 2,000-square-foot single-family home built in 1997, carrying $300,000 in dwelling coverage, $300,000 in liability coverage, $150,000 in personal property coverage and a $1,000 deductible, plus a 2% hurricane deductible where applicable. Holding the same policy specifications constant across all 50 states and the District of Columbia is what allows the comparison to isolate actual rate movement from differences in coverage choices between homeowners. Arkansas posted the largest decline at $538, followed by North Carolina at $256 and Missouri at $196. North Dakota, Mississippi, the District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Vermont rounded out the states with measurable decreases, though several of those drops were far smaller, in the range of $46 to $136.
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Nebraska, New Mexico, Colorado And Florida Moved The Opposite Way
On the other end of the comparison, Nebraska recorded the steepest increase in the country at $960, followed by New Mexico at $628, Colorado at $548 and Florida at $543. Quadrant’s methodology does not isolate a single cause for any one state’s increase, but the pattern lines up with regions carrying heavier severe-weather exposure and thinner insurer competition, the same dynamic regulators have pointed to elsewhere this year in explaining rising non-renewal rates. A homeowner in one of these four states renewing a policy in 2026 is, on average, paying several hundred dollars more than a homeowner with an identical policy paid just one year earlier.
Arkansas And Mississippi Leaned On Roof-Hardening Grants
Arkansas’s decline coincided with the start of the Strengthen Arkansas Homes Act, a state law that funds grants of up to $15,000 to replace a roof on an existing home, or up to $7,500 toward a FORTIFIED-standard roof on new construction, using $12 million a year drawn from insurance premium tax revenue. The program officially began in January 2026, though applications were not yet open as of the rate comparison. The law also requires insurers operating in the state to offer discounts to homeowners who qualify for FORTIFIED certification, a wind- and hail-resistant construction standard. Arkansas has historically carried some of the highest home insurance rates in the country because of its tornado and hail exposure, which made it the state with the most room to see rates ease once claims activity cooled. A resiliency nonprofit executive interviewed for the report described the decline as an early sign the broader insurance market may be starting to soften after several years of hard pricing, rather than a change tied to any single policy.
Mississippi’s $131 decrease points to a similar pattern along the Gulf Coast. The Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association offers eligible policyholders a free FORTIFIED Roof endorsement, which lets a homeowner rebuild to the wind- and water-resistant IBHS standard at no additional cost after a covered roof loss, rather than replacing a damaged roof with a standard one, and the state has separately backed the Strengthen Mississippi Homes Program, providing up to $15,000 in wind-mitigation assistance to eligible homeowners. No single factor explains Mississippi’s decrease on its own, but a milder 2025 storm season combined with a growing number of FORTIFIED-standard roofs along the coast lines up with the same pattern seen in Arkansas: mitigation investment paired with fewer catastrophic losses tends to show up in the following year’s average premium.
North Carolina’s Base Rates Rose While Actual Bills Fell
North Carolina presents a more counterintuitive case. State regulators approved two separate 7.5% base-rate increases covering 2025 and 2026, yet the average premium homeowners actually paid still dropped by $256. The gap comes down to the difference between an approved base rate, which sets a ceiling insurers can charge, and the discounts, underwriting adjustments and competitive pricing that determine what an individual homeowner is billed. North Carolina has leaned heavily on mitigation grants to narrow that gap: the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association’s Strengthen Your Roof and Strengthen Your Coastal Roof programs have put a combined $40 million into grants of up to $10,000 and $6,000 for wind-resistant roofs, and the state’s insurance commissioner has cited research showing FORTIFIED-roofed homes filed roughly 35% fewer claims after recent hurricanes, with about 23% less damage when a claim was filed. More insurers competing for business in the state has added additional downward pressure on what homeowners actually pay, even as filed base rates continue to climb.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Financial Wire editorial team.
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Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
