The Insurance Information Institute has launched an interactive Insurance Affordability Index, providing members, consumers, policymakers and media with a state-by-state breakdown of what’s driving auto and home insurance costs across the country.
The big picture: Rising property/casualty premiums are having more effect on U.S. household budgets, but the reasons costs differ so much by state include the impacts of catastrophe risk, legal system abuse and market conditions.
How it works: Triple-I’s Index, built on the Insurance Research Council’s (IRC) affordability methodology, ranks states into five tiers – from most to least affordable – for both personal auto and homeowners coverage. Each state’s page features:
- Five-year and two-year premium-to-income trends.
- Insurance costs relative to home or vehicle value.
- Rankings on cost drivers like catastrophe exposure, claims litigation and repair costs.
- Regional hazards.
- Risk mitigation steps consumers can take to potentially lower their costs.
The partnership: Triple-I and IRC are both affiliates of The Institutes. IRC supplies the affordability research; Triple-I built the dashboard on top of it and adds its own projections through 2025, which draw on Triple-I underwriting models, NAIC premium estimates and U.S. Census Bureau income data. Triple-I's media reach makes it the natural public face for the project, while IRC continues the background research that supports it. The division of labor lets each organization focus on what it does best: IRC on data and analysis, Triple-I on distribution and forward-looking projections. The two efforts are meant to complement each other, together building a fuller picture of affordability.
What we’re saying: “Insurance costs vary significantly across America, and for good reason: no two states carry the same catastrophe risk, legal environment or economic pressures,” said Sean Kevelighan, Triple-I CEO. “The Affordability Index brings the data and cost drivers together in one place, making those differences understandable, not mysterious.”
- “Insurance premiums are shaped by the underlying cost of claims,” added Pat Schmid, Ph.D., chief insurance officer at Triple-I and president of IRC. “Inflation and rising prices to repair and replace homes and vehicles are significant factors across the country. Where legal system abuse or catastrophe exposure adds further pressure, premiums rise accordingly.”
