The cost of homeowners insurance claims has been rising rapidly because of the combined effects of rising claim severity and increases in claim frequency, according to an insurance industry report. A new Insurance Research Council (IRC) study of homeowners insurance claim trends found that from 1997 to 2011, the average claim payment per insured home countrywide rose 173 percent, from $229 to $626. In 2011 alone, homeowners insurance claim costs per insured home increased 27 percent.