Homeowners’ insurance has become extremely difficult to secure in the highest climate-risk states, such as California, Florida, and Texas.
And the problem continues to grow, as more than one-fourth of U.S. homes, or 26.1%, with a combined value of $12.7 trillion, are exposed to at least one type of severe or extreme climate risk, such as hurricanes, wildfires, and floods, according to the latest Realtor.com 2025 Housing and Climate Risk Report.
While the Los Angeles wildfires and Texas flash floods are the climate disasters that most people immediately remember, the most at-risk metropolitan areas with the highest insurance costs are mostly in the South, based on premium-to-market value ratio, led by the No. 1 metro, Miami, and No. 2 metro, New Orleans.
Miami homeowners might soon get some welcome relief in the homeowners’ insurance market as a new carrier enters Florida.
Startup homeowners’ insurance company Stand Insurance will expand its coverage of catastrophe-exposed properties to Florida, after its December 2024 launch of underwriting insurance for homes in wildfire-exposed California.
The San Francisco-based insurance company, which launched its first product for California homeowners on Dec. 16, 2024, has underwritten $1 billion in insured value in the Golden State since it opened for business, according to an Oct. 16 statement.
Stand has an innovative approach to providing homeowners’ insurance as it combines physics, artificial intelligence, and proactive mitigation to insure homes that traditional carriers reject, according to its website.
Stand closed a $35 million Series B funding round on Oct. 16, backed by Eclipse, Inspired Capital, Lowercarbon Capital, and Equal Ventures, according to the statement.
The latest funding will support Stand’s expansion into Florida, which is one of the largest catastrophe markets in the U.S.
Florida has faced 94 separate billion-dollar disasters since 1980, with the last seven catastrophic events alone resulting in over $1 trillion in losses, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
7 droughts
4 floods
5 freeze events
33 severe storms
36 tropical cyclones
4 wildfires
5 winter storms
The state averaged 2.1 events each year between 1980 and 2024, with an average in 2020-2024 of 6.8 events a year.
The company launched in December with the backing of the industry’s top-tier reinsurers, an AM Best A- rating, and $30 million in funding from Inspired Capital, Lowercarbon, Equal Ventures, and Convective Capital.
