Study: Connecticut homeowners face $80 insurance hike due to tariffs

Apr. 24—Connecticut homeowners could pay an extra $80 when their property insurance comes up for renewal in the coming year, primarily because of higher tariffs on building materials, even as some policyholders are getting dropped by their carriers altogether, industry experts say.

In a Tuesday report, Insurify estimates that nationally the average increase in premiums will go up $106 for homeowners insurance in any prolonged trade war, to about $3,625 a year in annual premiums, on average. U.S. home builders and renovators rely on Canadian lumber, Mexican gypsum and appliances and components from China, among other items subject to tariffs created or envisioned by President Donald Trump, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

In Connecticut, homeowners here could see their annual total for home insurance nudge up to just over $2,800 on average, as calculated by insurance quote engine Insurify, using carrier pricing data from Quadrant Information Systems. That is about an $80 increase from the current average.

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The Consumer Federation of America estimates that Connecticut homeowners insurance premiums rose 16% between 2021 and 2024, on average. Like Insurify, CFA bases its estimates on information from Quadrant, whose software is used by insurance carriers to compare rates calculated by their actuaries against other companies.

The CEO of W.R. Berkley, a Greenwich-based underwriter that focuses on "surplus lines" policies for riskier properties that big insurers avoid, told investment analysts on Monday that the company is still working through the actuarial implications of any lengthy tariff war.

"We are paying close attention — as you would expect — to the tariffs, and it is a very fluid situation as everyone has an appreciation," said W.R. Berkley CEO Rob Berkley on Monday. "Trying to unpack that and figure out what it means for lost cost — that's something that we are working on actively. And again, as that comes into sharper focus, that may be instructive to us as to how we think about ... rate need."

In Florida where home insurance is in crisis mode, Insurify calculates a possible $464 increase as a result of tariffs, pushing the average policy to nearly $16,000 annually. Vermont would see the smallest increase nationally at $37 in increased premiums on average.

In results from a Florida Atlantic University survey released this week on the topic of climate resilience, Florida homeowners cited insurance costs as their top concern. An FAU geosciences expert said Florida residents are "connecting the dots" between climate change, hurricanes and soaring insurance premiums.

Includes prior reporting by Luther Turmelle.

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