Texas Home Insurance Prices May be Impacted by Fire Risk

Extensive media coverage has been devoted to recent wildfires in California, but Texas home insurance prices, not to mention those in other states, can also be impacted by fire danger.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, Texas is one of the riskiest states outside of California for property damage from wildfires. Others that carry a higher risk include North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Georgia and Florida.

This is because of a trend in recent years across the country for more homes to be built in wooded areas far from traditional population centers.

The organization also noted that between 1964 and 2008, the average annual cost of wildfire property damages was about $215 million, illustrating the financial burden that insurance companies and property owners have to deal with.

Overall, fire and smoke damage are generally covered by insurance policies, as is water damage from the firefighting process. Other non-fire factors can also have a serious impact on Texas home insurance prices, most notably tornadoes and hurricanes.