The release of the 15th annual Iowa Climate Statement brought discussion surrounding climate change contributing to higher property insurance costs in the state Monday.
Roughly 180 Iowa science faculty at 26 colleges and universities across the state gathered via Zoom.
Homeowners insurance averages $1,970 a year in Iowa, according to a Nov. 6 article published by U.S. World News and Report. Insurify, a virtual insurance agency accredited by the Better Business Bureau, estimated 2025 will see a 19 percent increase of homeowner insurance.
The report listed increased premiums resulting from climate-related issues, with $15.8 billion of crop insurance premiums paid out by farmers in 2024, of which $9.8 billion was subsidized by the federal government.
“Iowa is not immune to extreme climate change damages,” Dave Courard-Hauri, professor of environmental science and sustainability at Drake University, said during the conference.
Continually rising global temperatures fail to slow in the face of expanding renewable energy efforts, resulting in precarious weather patterns and, ultimately, higher insurance costs for Iowans, according to the climate statement.
“Every one of the Earth’s 10 hottest years on record has occurred in the last decade, with 2024 breaking all previous records. When those temperature changes lead to the types of extreme events and damages that we have seen more of in recent years, that plays out in increased costs, which then show up as higher insurance rates,” William Gutowski, professor emeritus of meteorology at Iowa State University, said in the statement.
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He also said these damages are growing in cost each year, which pushes up the insurance premiums for residents of the state.
“Rapidly rising insurance premiums in Iowa are being driven by increased cost of labor, building materials, and reinsurance,” Thorne said.
Both the statement and press conference urged Iowans to investigate their insurance coverage to make sure floods are covered.
While they focused on insurance costs, the scientists said changing insurance helps to cover residents’ property, without fixing the underlying causes, such as not using clean energy, it will not fix anything in the long term.
“We must work quickly to reduce our reliance on coal and oil by shifting to clean energy sources like wind and solar. Doing so will reduce carbon dioxide emissions and thereby minimize future climate-related property damage. It is past time to act,” the statement said.
Emma Stapleton, UI research assistant professor of Internal Medicine, explained how building developers could help to combat some of these issues in the building designs.
“Planting native wind buffers and strategically placed trees to reduce extreme heat and actively cut down on insurance costs.” Stapleton said.