Minnesota’s home insurance rate rose more than any other state in first half of 2026

(Minnesota Reformer) – Minnesota home insurance rates rose steeply in the first six months of 2026, up 13% from the end of 2025, according to a report from insurance comparison website Insurify.

Minnesotans continue to see the biggest rate increase in the country, with some Minnesota counties seeing a spike of 20% in just six months.

The increase of $457 brought the state’s average annual insurance premium to $3,987 as of June.

In 2023, the state had insurance rates below the national average; rates have surged since then, and now exceed the national average by over 30%, driven by hail and thunderstorms. Home insurance is more expensive in five states, including Florida, where rates are, on average, $8,486 a year.

The National Centers for Environmental Information estimates that Minnesota had $10.3 million in property damage from severe weather events from January to May. The vast majority took place on April 17, when five tornadoes struck southeastern Minnesota and caused over $9.7 million in property damage, according to NCEI estimates.

That’s still far less compared to the billions of dollars of damage in previous years, which led to losses for insurers and catapulted Minnesota’s home insurance premiums to some of the highest in the nation. In 2022, a hailstorm with golf ball-sized hail in some areas caused at least $2.6 billion in damages; a powerful 2023 thunderstorm resulted in at least $1.5 billion in damages from hail and wind.

Large hail could become more common as the climate warms: In 2024, Northern Illinois University researchers projected that warmer climates over the course of the century will melt smaller hailstones but also result in stronger updrafts producing larger hailstones.

Of the 10 counties in the nation with the highest premium increases in 2026 so far, five were in Minnesota: Le Sueur County, Watonwan County, Martin County, Hennepin County and Steele County, according to the Insurify data. Every county in Minnesota now has an average home insurance rate that’s higher than the national average.

At the same time that insurance premiums are rising, homeowners have found that insurance policies are covering less than expected — and roof repair costs are multiplying, CBS reported. The Better Business Bureau has also warned homeowners to beware of “storm chasers” — scammy contractors knocking on doors after a storm damages homes and pressuring homeowners into contracts.

Insurify had projected Minnesota’s insurance rates to rise only 4% in 2026. The state’s rates have exceeded that in just the first six months of the year.