This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune, a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy.
Many Panhandle residents whose dwellings and possessions burned in the region’s ongoing wildfires may never financially recover for one simple reason: Their homes weren’t insured.
“A lot of the people who have lost a home had no insurance,” Governor Greg Abbott said at a March 1 press conference. “So there are a lot of people in great need right now.”
Texans pay some of the highest homeowners insurance premiums in the country. Increased risk of extreme weather events, at least partially driven by climate change, have driven up those costs. Growth in homeowners insurance rates here outpaced the rest of the nation last year, straining Texans’ ability to pay.
In Texas, those without insurance are also more likely to be those who have a harder time recovering from disaster: lower-income households and rural residents. That mea... Read more
