WARREN, HAWLEY PRESS HOME AND AUTO INSURERS ON SURGE IN CLAIMS RESOLVED WITHOUT PAYMENT

The following information was released by the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs:

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and Senator Josh Hawley (R-Misso.) wrote to executives of State Farm, Allstate, USAA, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, and American Family, raising serious concerns about reports that an unprecedented share of homeowners and auto insurance claims are being closed without payment to policyholders.

In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that Americans "face a near flip-of-the-coin chance that their home insurer will pay a claim." The report found that the five largest home insurers failed to pay out on over 44% of claims resolved in 2025 the risk of which has increased from 36% just a decade ago.

The Wall Street Journal followed up with a report about car insurance payouts in August, which found auto insurers failed to deliver on 45% of auto liability and medical claims they resolved last year, up from 35% a decade ago.

"The growing share of both homeowners and auto insurance claims resulting in no payment raises serious questions about whether consumers can trust their insurance companies to hold up their end of the bargain when disasters or emergencies occur and affect their most basic essentials: their home and car," wrote the Senators.

"At the same time as more home and auto insurance claims go unpaid, consumers are paying substantially more for both forms of coverage," the Senators continued. "Homeowners insurance premiums rose 70 percent nationally from 2019 to 2025. For an average homeowner with $350,000 in rebuilding coverage, their premiums increased by about 39 percent or $760 in 2025."

"For some homeowners, the rising costs of homeowners insurance combined with the lower likelihood of payouts are causing them to forego insurance entirely," wrote the Senators. "A 2024 study from the Insurance Information Institute found that 12 percent of Americans no longer had home insurance, up from five percent in 2019."

"However, the record profits of insurance companies raise questions about whether increasingly aggressive claims-handling practices, including tactics to delay payments, are contributing to higher margins," the Senators continued.

The Senators concluded by requesting information about these concerning developments in the insurance industry by October 16, 2026.

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