2026 LexisNexis U.S. Home Insurance Trends Report: Claims Severity Reaches All-Time High While Frequency Declines

Rhea-AI Summary

LexisNexis Risk Solutions (NYSE: RELX) released the 2026 U.S. Home Trends Report, analyzing by‑peril claims data for 2019‑2025. The study shows All Peril severity in 2025 reached a seven‑year high, up 25.9% versus 2024 and 93.2% versus 2019, while frequency fell 23.8% year over year.

Despite a 4.4% decline in All Peril loss cost from 2024, loss cost remained the third highest in seven years and 50.0% above 2019. The U.S. recorded 23 climate disasters causing at least $1 billion in damages in 2025, totaling $115 billion. January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires drove Fire and Lightning loss cost up 76.8%, with severity up 67.3%, and generated an estimated $61.2 billion in damages, the costliest wildfire in U.S. history.

Wind loss cost fell 50.4% and Hail loss cost decreased 38.4% from recent peaks, while several non‑weather perils showed declining frequency but rising long‑term severity, which the report links to inflationary and social‑inflation pressures.

News Market Reaction – RELX

+0.03%

+0.03% Session close to close

In the Jul 22 session, RELX gained 0.03%, reflecting a mild positive market reaction.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

Market Context

The May 7 consumer study was followed by a -4.45% 24-hour reaction, showing that recent RELX news re...

Analysis

The May 7 consumer study was followed by a -4.45% 24-hour reaction, showing that recent RELX news responses varied. This report adds insurance-loss data; low short positioning remains a sourced risk context, while peer headlines were absent.

Key Figures

All Peril severity increase: 25.9% All Peril severity increase: 93.2% All Peril loss cost change: -4.4% +5 more

8 metrics

All Peril severity increase 25.9% 2025 vs. 2024

All Peril severity increase 93.2% 2025 vs. 2019

All Peril loss cost change -4.4% 2025 vs. 2024

All Peril frequency change -23.8% 2025 vs. 2024

Billion-dollar climate disasters 23 disasters U.S. in 2025

Climate disaster damages $115 billion U.S. billion-dollar climate disasters in 2025

Los Angeles wildfire damages $61.2 billion January 2025 wildfires

Fire and Lightning loss cost increase 76.8% 2025 vs. 2024

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Jun 16 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	24h Move	Catalyst
Jun 16	Commercial product launch	Positive	-0.1%	Launched Current Carrier Commercial for U.S. commercial and multiline insurers
May 07	Consumer study	Positive	-4.5%	Published findings on electronic medical-information sharing for life insurance underwriting
Apr 24	Industry expo conclusion	Positive	+1.1%	WEPACK 2026 concluded with record attendance and broad global participation
Apr 23	Strategic relationship	Positive	-0.4%	Cytora relationship embedded LexisNexis data and analytics into underwriting workflows
Apr 16	Platform integration	Positive	+1.5%	Integrated Health Intelligence with Agenium's configurable platform for life insurers

24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.

Pattern Detected

The five prior news events produced mixed 24-hour reactions, ranging from -4.45% to +1.49%, with no consistent direction.

Key Terms

loss cost, claims frequency, claims severity, social inflation

4 terms

loss cost financial

"Examining loss cost, claims frequency and severity"

Loss cost is the estimated amount an insurer expects to pay for claims per unit of coverage before adding expenses, profit margin, or taxes. Think of it like the raw bill for damage or claims—similar to the ingredients cost in a recipe—used by insurers to set prices and build reserve estimates. For investors, loss cost affects an insurer’s pricing strategy, reserve needs and ultimately its reported profitability.

claims frequency financial

"Examining loss cost, claims frequency and severity"

Claims frequency is the rate at which insurance claims are filed over a given period, usually expressed per policy, per insured person, or per unit of exposure. Investors watch it because rising frequency can signal higher future payouts, increased costs, or changes in customer behavior, much like counting how often a car needs repairs gives a hint about ongoing maintenance costs for the owner.

claims severity financial

"All Peril severity reached an all-time high in 2025"

Claims severity measures the average cost paid out for each insurance claim, or how large individual payouts tend to be. Investors watch it because higher severity means insurers must set aside more money, raise prices, or take losses—similar to a car owner facing bigger repair bills that eat into savings; for an insurer, rising claim costs can reduce profits, require higher reserves, and signal greater underwriting risk.

social inflation financial

"The report notes this may be anecdotal evidence of social inflation"

A rise in insurance losses and legal payouts driven by changing social attitudes, more aggressive lawsuits, larger jury awards, and broader definitions of liability. It matters to investors because it can quietly increase an insurer’s claims costs and required reserves, reduce profits, and raise the risk of sudden losses—similar to a slowly rising tide that makes operating costs higher across the industry and can change how a company is valued.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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New report underscores how climate events, inflation and geographic volatility are reshaping home insurance loss trends

ATLANTA, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- LexisNexis® Risk Solutions today released the 2026 LexisNexis U.S. Home Trends Report, providing an updated analysis of by-peril claims trends in the U.S. home insurance industry to help carriers make more informed, strategic decisions. Examining loss cost, claims frequency and severity, the report also offers insights into seasonality shifts, catastrophic claims and geographic patterns, including trends by U.S. state.

Key Takeaways from the 2026 LexisNexis U.S. Home Trends Report

• All Peril severity reached an all-time high in 2025, increasing 25.9% from 2024 and 93.2% compared to 2019. While All Peril loss cost decreased 4.4% and frequency decreased 23.8% from 2024 to 2025, loss cost remained the third highest in seven years and 50.0% higher than in 2019.
• The U.S. experienced 23 climate disasters with $1 billion or more in damages in 2025, totaling $115 billion in damages and marking the third highest year of billion-dollar climate events on record. The Los Angeles wildfires accounted for more than half of that total at $61.2 billion, demonstrating how a single catastrophic event can significantly affect loss trends.¹
• Fire and Lightning were the defining perils of 2025, with loss cost increasing 76.8% and severity rising 67.3% year over year, driven largely by the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

"U.S. home insurers continue to face increasing pressure and uncertainty as they contend with a 'perfect storm' of rising severity, rising inflation-driven replacement costs and a reshaping of loss patterns in the face of shifting climate-driven catastrophes," said George Hosfield, vice president and general manager, home insurance, LexisNexis Risk Solutions. "The data reinforces the need for insurers to turn to multi-source datasets and analytics to help assess risk more accurately, benchmark performance and adapt to these volatile market conditions."

All Peril Trends

• The U.S. home insurance industry continued to experience a long-term upward trend in loss cost across all perils combined. Although All Peril loss cost decreased in 2025, it was still the third most expensive year for loss cost within the last seven years.
• Severity rose significantly, reaching its highest level in seven years and increasing 93.2% compared to 2019. The rise in severity offset lower claim frequency, which continued its general downward trend since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Download the full 2026 LexisNexis U.S. Home Trends Report to explore how state-level loss cost and seasonality shifts are contributing to market volatility, including why California experienced the highest loss cost in 2025 and how wind and hail activity affected several central U.S. states.

Fire and Lightning Perils

• Fire and Lightning were the defining perils of 2025, with loss cost increasing 76.8%, frequency increasing 6.0% and severity rising 67.3% year over year from 2024. The dramatic increase was driven largely by the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, including the Palisades and Eaton fires.
• The fires cost an estimated $61.2 billion, making them the highest-cost climate disaster in the U.S. in 2025 and the costliest recorded wildfire in U.S. history.²
• Download the full 2026 LexisNexis U.S. Home Trends Report to see how the timing of the Los Angeles fires affected Fire and Lightning loss patterns, including a shift in the peril's typical seasonality.

Wind and Hail Perils

• Wind loss cost decreased 50.4% and severity decreased 12.0% from 2024 to 2025, while frequency decreased 43.9%. The year-over-year decreases were likely driven by the lower number of catastrophe Wind claims in 2025.
• Despite lower Wind loss costs overall, wind-related risk remained significant. A central tornado outbreak in mid-March was the second costliest billion-dollar weather event of the year, costing an estimated $11 billion.³
• Hail loss cost decreased 38.4% in 2025 from its seven-year high in 2023, and frequency decreased 35.4% from 2023. Severity remained flat compared to 2024.
• Download the full 2026 LexisNexis U.S. Home Trends Report for additional context on catastrophe claims, billion-dollar hail events and the states most affected by severe convective weather across the central U.S.

Non-Weather-Related Perils

• Non-Weather-Related Water loss cost decreased 6.4% and frequency decreased 7.8% from 2024 to 2025, while severity rose 2.5%.
• Severity for the peril increased 63.16% between 2019 and 2025, likely due to inflation and rising material and labor costs associated with remediating water damage.
• Liability loss cost decreased 4.0% and frequency decreased 14.6% from 2024 to 2025, while severity increased 12.8% year over year. The report notes this may be anecdotal evidence of social inflation, a term that describes how liability claims costs are increasing above general economic inflation, related to increasing litigation costs.⁴
• Download the full 2026 LexisNexis U.S. Home Trends Report for additional findings on Theft and Other Perils, including how declining frequency and rising severity are contributing to shifting loss trends across non-weather-related claims.

"Broader loss trends are important, but they are only the starting point," continued Hosfield. "The real opportunity for carriers is using those trends to help better understand what to look for at the individual-property level. If wildfire risk is expanding into new areas, carriers having insight into the fortification and condition of specific homes can help support more informed assessment decisions. If a state is seeing distinct water-loss patterns, understanding the interior risk characteristics of the properties they insure can be key. By connecting national, state and peril-level trends with more granular property intelligence, carriers can make more informed underwriting, pricing and portfolio decisions."

Download the full 2026 LexisNexis U.S. Home Trends Report.

Click here to learn more about leveraging high-quality data and superior analytics to help deliver advanced risk management and identify new areas for growth.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions leverages the power of data, advanced analytics platforms and integrated AI solutions to provide insights that help businesses across multiple industries and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, we have offices throughout the world and are part of RELX (LSE: REL/NYSE: RELX), a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, please visit LexisNexis Risk Solutions and RELX.

Media Contact:
Syed Shabbir
Director, Communications
Insurance and Healthcare
LexisNexis Risk Solutions
816-572-7709
syed.shabbir@lexisnexisrisk.com 

¹ "2025 in Review: U.S, Billion-Dollar Disasters," Climate Central, https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/2025-in-review
² "2025 in Review: U.S, Billion-Dollar Disasters," Climate Central, https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/2025-in-review
³ "2025 in Review: U.S, Billion-Dollar Disasters," Climate Central, https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/2025-in-review
⁴ "Social Inflation," National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), https://content.naic.org/insurance-topics/social-inflation

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SOURCE LexisNexis Risk Solutions

FAQ

What are the key findings of the 2026 LexisNexis U.S. Home Trends Report for RELX?

The report finds All Peril claims severity hit a seven-year high in 2025, while frequency declined. According to LexisNexis Risk Solutions, severity rose 25.9% year over year and 93.2% versus 2019, with loss cost still 50.0% higher than in 2019.

How did climate disasters impact U.S. home insurance trends in 2025 according to RELX?

Climate disasters significantly influenced 2025 loss trends, with 23 events causing at least $1 billion each. According to LexisNexis Risk Solutions, these totaled $115 billion in damages, led by the Los Angeles wildfires at $61.2 billion, heavily affecting Fire and Lightning peril metrics.

What does the 2026 LexisNexis home insurance report say about Fire and Lightning losses?

Fire and Lightning were the defining perils of 2025, driven by Los Angeles wildfires. According to LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Fire and Lightning loss cost increased 76.8%, frequency 6.0%, and severity 67.3% year over year, making the wildfires the costliest recorded in U.S. history.

How did Wind and Hail home insurance loss costs change in 2025 in the RELX report?

Wind and Hail showed notable year-over-year declines in loss cost and frequency in 2025. According to LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Wind loss cost fell 50.4% and Hail loss cost dropped 38.4% from prior peaks, though individual events like a March tornado outbreak still caused major losses.

What trends in non-weather-related water and liability claims does the 2026 LexisNexis report highlight?

Non-weather water and liability claims showed lower frequency but higher long-term severity. According to LexisNexis Risk Solutions, non-weather water severity rose 63.16% from 2019 to 2025, while liability severity increased 12.8% year over year, potentially reflecting inflation and social-inflation pressures.

How can insurers use the 2026 LexisNexis U.S. Home Trends data for underwriting decisions?

Insurers can combine national and state-level peril trends with granular property data to refine underwriting. According to LexisNexis Risk Solutions, linking wildfire, water-loss, and other peril patterns to individual home characteristics can support more informed risk assessment, pricing, and portfolio management decisions.