[Opening Scene- on camera, conversational tone]

Agent:

Everyone watches the mortgage rate, but a quieter number is now killing deals: the homeowners insurance quote.

Start with the scale. Insurify projects the average U.S. premium near $3,057 for 2026, up about 46% since 2021, and some sources put it higher. ICE’s September Mortgage Monitor found insurance averaged $209 a month for single-family borrowers, nearly 80% above early 2020 levels, and about 9.6% of the average monthly mortgage payment.

The gap between states is the real story. Premiums rose about 14% on average in the 25 most expensive states, compared with just 5% in the 25 least expensive. Florida averages over $8,000 a year, and Massachusetts saw one of the fastest jumps, with premiums up roughly 43% in one analysis.

Here’s how it kills a deal. A buyer gets pre-approved, finds a home, and then the insurance quote comes in hundreds of dollars a month higher than expected. That pushes their debt-to-income ratio over the lender’s limit, and the loan shrinks or falls through.

What to do: get insurance quotes before you make an offer, not after. Ask the seller for the home’s claims history, check roof age and condition, and ask about wind, hail, and flood coverage separately. Compare several carriers, because quotes on the same home can vary widely.

Also ask your agent which homes in your range are hard to insure. In some markets, that matters more than the listing price.

[Closing Scene]

Bottom line: the sticker price is only part of the cost. The insurance quote is the number that can change your approval.

Has an insurance quote surprised you on a purchase? Tell me what you saw.