SC has one of the least insurable counties in the US, new report says. Here’s where & why
South Carolina is one of the most expensive states for home insurance in the U.S., with rates expected to skyrocket in the coming years due to increasing climate risks.
It’s a trend that has affected much of the country already. According to a report from the Coalition for an Insurable Future, there has been a 38% increase in homeowners insurance premiums in the U.S. since 2021, outpacing inflation and wage growth. The report correlates the rising rates to increasing climate disasters.
SC’s coastal counties cost more to insure because they’re more likely to be impacted by natural disasters, but one county in the state is especially tricky to insure, according to a new report.
Insurify, a digital insurance agency, identified the nation’s most threatened and expensive areas to insure and compiled a list of the least insurable counties in the U.S.
Here’s the SC county that made the unfortunate ranking and why it placed where it did:
Charleston one of least insurable counties in US
To identify where homes face the greatest insurance risk, Insurify developed a county-level Home Insurance Risk Index covering 3,136 counties across the 50 states and Washington, D.C, according to their report. The insurance platform gave each county it analyzed a score from 0 to 100, from least risky to most risky. A score of 50 is the nation’s median.
From its analysis, Charleston is acknowledged as the 10th riskiest county in America for insurers, with a Home Insurance Risk Index score of 98.9. The populous SC county has an average annual home insurance premium of $5,491, an 86% increase from the national average.
Although the report classified Charleston as the 10th riskiest county, the county has the 74th most expensive home insurance premiums nationally.
The primary reason Charleston experiences this risk is due to its location and its sensitivity to storms. For example, back in 2023, Charleston faced severe flooding from Hurricane Idalia.
10 least insurable counties in U.S.
These counties are the riskiest to insure and are all concentrated along the Gulf and South Atlantic coasts. Because hurricanes are about as destructive as natural disasters can get, insurers often charge more in the Southeast.
- #1. Monroe County, Florida: 99.5 risk index and $22,436 average annual home insurance premium (661% above national average)
- #2. Dare County, North Carolina: 99.3 risk index and $9,394 average annual home insurance premium (219% above national average)
- #3. Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana: 99.2 risk index and $10,044 average annual home insurance premium (241% above national average)
- #4. Orleans Parish, Louisiana: 99.2 risk index and $7,549 average annual home insurance premium (156% above national average)
- #5. St. Charles Parish, Louisiana: 99.2 risk index and $7,487 average annual home insurance premium (154% above national average)
- #6. Carteret County, North Carolina: 99.1 risk index and $12,375 average annual home insurance premium (320% above national average)
- #7. Baldwin County, Alabama: 98.9 risk index and $11,788 average annual home insurance premium (300% above national average)
- #8. Cameron Parish, Louisiana: 98.9 risk index and $9,476 average annual home insurance premium (221% above national average)
- #9. Collier County, Florida: 98.9 risk index and $8,024 average annual home insurance premium (172% above national average)
- #10. Charleston County, South Carolina: 98.9 risk index and $5,491 average annual home insurance premium (86% above national average)