OKC metro is top two for highest home insurance costs in the country

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Home insurance rates in the U.S. continue to rise and the Oklahoma City metro ranks second among the nation's top 50 most populous metros. It might also catch your attention that more metro residents are dropping their home insurance altogether.

"The last few years have been particularly tough for homeowners, tough for insurance companies," insurance analyst with Value Penguin by Lending Tree Rob Bhatt said.

Not only that, nearly 13% of homes in the metro carry no insurance at all, according to their most recent study. Bhatt said our severe weather in Oklahoma is just a part of the picture.

"It's left insurance companies having to pay to rebuild more homes than they're normally used to," he said.

Those rebuilds create something called "surge pricing," according to Bhatt. That's a pressured demand for construction that pushes up costs, which then get passed on to consumers. This is all combined with prices still being high from inflation. Their study found that OKC metro residents average almost $1,700 in monthly home ownership costs and about $217 of that goes to home insurance.

"When you have insurance rates that keep going up faster than people's household incomes go up, it creates a lot of financial pressure on people," Bhatt said.

In Oklahoma, the insurance commission relies on market competition to regulate pricing. Some states like California limit how much insurers can charge. So, for now, Bhatt said that leaves the hard work to Oklahoma homeowners to shop around and search for savings.

Bhatt said his fingers are crossed with some signs showing rates may be leveling off this year. You can find their full study for more information and tips on homeowners' insurance here.