Over 2.5 million Americans were forced out of their homes by natural disasters in 2023. As wildfires, hurricanes, and windstorms become routine across the country, homeowners are seeing their insurance premiums skyrocket. This has left many wondering: Is homeowners insurance even worth it anymore? Teo explains to Clare what homeowners insurance actually covers and whether the data says it pays off. 

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Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:
Interview with Angela Giacchetti, Eaton Fire survivor, 2026 
Interview with Jeffrey Callen, Washington state homeowner, 2026
Interview with Aaron VanTuyl, communications and media manager, Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, 2026
Proprietary data, Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, 2026
Community voices: LA fire recovery report, Department of Angels, 2026
Property insurance and disaster risk: New evidence from mortgage escrow data, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2024
Next to fall: The climate-driven insurance crisis is here — and getting worse, Senate Budget Committee staff report, 2024
Earthquake data call report, Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, 2017
Study of American homeowners, LendingTree, 2026
Flood insurance manual, National Flood Insurance Program of FEMA, 2025
Home insurance rates in America are wildly distorted. Here’s why, New York Times, 2024
See where home insurance policies were dropped in your state, New York Times, 2024

Over 2.5 million Americans were forced out of their homes by natural disasters in 2023. As wildfires, hurricanes, and windstorms become routine across the country, homeowners are seeing their insurance premiums skyrocket. This has left many wondering: Is homeowners insurance even worth it anymore? Teo explains to Clare what homeowners insurance actually covers and whether the data says it pays off.&nbsp;
We want to answer your questions about how our world works!<a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML"> Click here</a> to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home,<a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes"> KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Angela Giacchetti, Eaton Fire survivor, 2026&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Jeffrey Callen, Washington state homeowner, 2026</li>
<li aria-level="1">Interview with Aaron VanTuyl, communications and media manager, Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, 2026</li>
<li aria-level="1">Proprietary data, Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, 2026</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6792c245599ed84703227b1e/t/6a60ec825c62c877b0a8e4be/1784736898126/Department+of+Angels+Survey+Memo_July+2026.pdf">Community voices: LA fire recovery report</a>, Department of Angels, 2026</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w32579">Property insurance and disaster risk: New evidence from mortgage escrow data</a>, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2024</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/hearings/next-to-fall-the-climate-driven-insurance-crisis-is-here_and-getting-worse">Next to fall: The climate-driven insurance crisis is here &mdash; and getting worse</a>, Senate Budget Committee staff report, 2024</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/4368239-Earthquake-Data-Call-Report-EMBARGO/">Earthquake data call report</a>, Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, 2017</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.lendingtree.com/insurance/homes-uninsured-study/">Study of American homeowners</a>, LendingTree, 2026</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_rsl_national-flood-insurance-manual_06032025.pdf">Flood insurance manual, </a>National Flood Insurance Program of FEMA, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/07/08/climate/home-insurance-climate-change.html">Home insurance rates in America are wildly distorted. Here&rsquo;s why</a>, New York Times, 2024</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/12/18/climate/insurance-nonrenewal-rates-policies-state-map.html">See where home insurance policies were dropped in your state</a>, New York Times, 2024</li>
</ul>

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data &mdash; hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data &mdash; and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. 

Control F

Americans who've fled their homes in a natural disaster rely on insurance to recover financially. Does it work?