After a 12-day journey from the Caribbean to the East Coast of the United States, Hurricane Matthew left a trail of destruction from Haiti to Virginia, and many places in between.
What may add to the disaster is that fact that in the largest cities in the Southeast, homeowners are less insured than they were eight years ago, according to an analysis of government data by Trulia, an online real estate site.
Researchers used 2006 through 2014 data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey to calculate the share of homeowners who are currently paying homeowners' insurance.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2014, that in the Southeast region’s biggest cities, the number of insured households dropped between 7 and 12 percentage points.
For example, the percentage of Miami households reporting that they had homeowners' property insurance fell to 78 percent in 2014 from 90 percent in 2006. The Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida, area saw the steepest drop, to 79 percent from 92 percent, Trulia found.
|Premiums climbed 28.2% nationally
Homeowners may drop insurance for many reasons, but Mark Uh, a data scientist at Trulia, argues there are two main factors that may contributed to the decline:
- Homeowners' insurance has become more expensive during the past eight years in most areas, with premiums climbing 28.2 percent nationally. And 10 of the 25 most expensive markets for homeowners' insurance are in the Southeast.
- Some homeowners who pay off their mortgages decide to forgo insurance because of the cost.
Ultimately, short-term savings from canceling homeowners' insurance can have long-term financial consequences.
Related: Deadly Hurricane Matthew in pictures
Here's a look at the change in households paying property insurance in six Florida metro areas that could have been affected by Matthew:
Storm damage from Hurricane Mathew is shown in this aerial photo from Oct. 8 in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Photo: Chris O'Meara/AP Photo)
|Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida
83 percent of homeowners with property insurance, 2014.
93 oercebt of homeowners had property insurance, 2006.
$947: Median annual property insurance cost, 2006.
$1,200: Median annual property insurance cost, 2014.
-5.51: Percent-point change in homeowners that had property insurance, 2006-2014.
Danielle Henry clears debris from outside her condo at Jacksonville Beach, Fla., on Oct. 8 after Hurricane Matthew passed through Friday. (Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)
|Jacksonville, Florida
86 percent of homeowners had property insurance in 2014.
95 percent of homeowners had property insurance in 2006.
$851: Median annual property insurance cost in 2006.
$1,200: Median annual property insurance cost in 2014.
-8.72: Percent-point change in homeowners that had property insurance from 2006 to 2014.
In this aerial photo, workers inspect a roof that was partially torn off after Hurricane Matthew brushed Florida's east coast early Friday. (Photo: Chris O'Meara/AP Photo)
|Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
87 percent of homeowners had property insurance in 2014.
95 percent of homeowners had property insurance in 2006.
$958: Median annual property insurance cost in 2006.
$1,200: Median annual property insurance cost in 2014.
-8.14: Percent-point change in homeowners that had property insurance from 2006 to 2014.
Rob Jakoby and his son Jake sweep debris off the eroded deck at his damaged beach home at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on Oct. 8 after Hurricane Matthew passed through. (Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)
|Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida
78 percent of homeowners with property insurance in 2014.
90 percent of homeowners had property insurance in 2006.
$2,128: Median annual property insurance cost in 2006.
$2,000: Median annual property insurance cost in 2014.
-11.92: Percent-point change in homeowners that had property insurance from 2006 to 2014.
A man looks at his neighbor's battered beach at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on Oct. 8 after Hurricane Matthew passed through. (PhotoL Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)
|West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, Florida
82 percent of homeowners with property insurance in 2014.
91 percent of homeowners had property insurance in 2006.
$1,916: Median annual property insurance cost in 2006.
$1,800: Median annual property insurance cost in 2014.
-9.70: Percent-point change in homeowners that had property insurance from 2006 to 2014.
A dock on a water-front home is shown on Oct. 8 after being damaged by Hurricane Matthew in St. Augustine, Fla. (Photo: John Bazemore/AP Photo)
|Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Florida
80 percent of homeowners with property insurance in 2014.
91 percent of homeowners had property insurance in 2006.
$1,809: Median annual property insurance cost in 2006.
$1,600: Median annual property insurance cost in 2014.
-10.95: Percentage-point change in homeowners that had property insurance from 2006 to 2014.
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Jayleen R. Heft
Jayleen Heft is the digital content editor for PropertyCasualty360.com. Contact her at [email protected].
