Illinois home insurance premiums are on the rise right along with severe weather

With cleanup underway Thursday from yet another round of severe storms the night before, CBS News Chicago has learned that Illinois home insurance premiums are not only higher than the nation's average, but going up faster too.

Experts said extreme weather in the area, and its connection to the changing climate, are the reasons why.

In Chicago's Beverly neighborhood, some people said it took more than a week to get help from their insurance companies after the last round of severe weather. On Wednesday, Beverly was hit with another round of severe thunderstorms, bringing dangerous wind and drenching rain.

According to the office of Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th), there were more than 75 tree emergencies in the wake of the storms in Beverly, and nearly 2,000 customers lost power in the storm.

The area was hit by storms two weeks ago too.

"All of a sudden, the wind picked up, and the rain just went sideways," Beverly resident Joe Saindon said at that time. "It was so thick, you couldn't even look across the street."

As people cleaned up repeatedly in Beverly, the results of a new study are not likely to be welcome news to them and others in their situation. The study shows homeowners are paying 14% above the national average, with rate increases among the highest in the country the last two years.

Why?

"Insurance companies will say they're raising their rates because of the climate risk," said Rob Bhatt of LendingTree.

Scientists point out that the changing climate means more rain and harsher storms.

"We are seeing it across the country, and especially in Illinois, where you are seeing more powerful storms," Bhatt said. "Storms are intensifying, and the amount of destruction they're causing is becoming more costly."

Insurance companies use predictive analysis to make decisions about rates.

"You look at the way they set rates now, and they're using, they call it catastrophe modeling," Bhatt said. "So they're using computer software to predict the frequency and intensity of storms."

Bhatt pointed specifically to increasing tornadoes in Illinois — 147 last year compared to 139 in 2024, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center.

This season has already broken records for tornadoes, with 161 confirmed this year.

In its State of Home Insurance Report for 2026, LendingTree also said:

• Illinois homeowners pay an average of $2,731 annually for home insurance, which, again, is 14% above the national average.
• Home insurance rates have risen 68% since 2020, the seventh-largest increase nationwide.
• Premiums increased another 14.1% in 2025, the fourth-largest increase in the U.S.
• Illinois ranks #17 for average home insurance premiums nationwide with that $2,731 figure.
• Illinois ranks #7 for the largest increase in home insurance rates since 2020.
• Illinois ranks #4 for home insurance rate increases in 2025.
• Illinois homeowners have seen insurance costs rise at a faster pace than the national average, creating growing affordability challenges.
• While many states saw the pace of insurance increases slow in 2025, Illinois continued to experience double-digit premium growth.

Another Beverly resident, Stephanie Piniuta, had an 85-foot elm tree crash onto her house during the storms two weeks ago. She said it took nine days to get someone from her insurance company to her home, and she said customers need to start pushing back.

Piniuta is a science teacher with a master's in biology and a focus on environmental science. She said she has studied the impact of the changing weather.

"Climate change is coming for us, and we need to restructure things," Piniuta said. "We need to have our voice in the people."

So, what can the average person do? Experts say it is time to get serious about prevention and strengthening your home with features such as windproof windows and impact-resistant roofs.

But Piniuta said it's about more than weatherproofing.

"Now is the time for social change and social structure if we want to have a beautiful world going forward," she said.