Minnesota house insurance premiums leap after just one claim

Minnesota tops the nation in terms of how much the cost of a homeowners insurance policy jumps after a claim. Filing just one claim raises the annual premium cost in Minnesota an average of 21.2 percent, according to report out Wednesday by InsuranceQuotes.com, an online insurance marketplace. That’s significantly above the 9 percent national average. Connecticut was a close second at 20.6 percent. Texas, which outlaws premium increases after claims, came in last at zero. “We were really surprised by how much the increase varies depending on where you live,” said Laura Adams, senior insurance analyst at InsuranceQuotes.com, which is owned by Bankrate.com. Adams said she thinks the severe storms and tornadoes that have pummeled Minnesota since 1998 are driving Minnesota’s high premium increases, as insurers play catch-up with the higher level of risk on their books. That Minnesota has become catastrophe-prone is the basic argument insurers have made for the rate increases that have stung Minnesotans in recent years.