Methodology & Data Sources

Data Source

All data comes directly from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Insurance Office (FIO), published in their report series "Analyses of U.S. Homeowners Insurance Markets." The FIO collects this data directly from insurers under the authority of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. § 5515).

Coverage

PlainInsure covers 25,593 ZIP codes across all 50 states and D.C., with 5 years of data (2018–2022). The dataset represents approximately 246 million policies from 330+ insurers during the reporting period.

Metrics Defined

• Average premium: Mean annual homeowners insurance premium for policies in the ZIP code, weighted by policy count, as reported by insurers to the FIO
• Loss ratio: Total claims paid ÷ total premiums collected, expressed as a percentage. A loss ratio above 100% means claims exceeded premiums collected — the insurer lost money in that area
• Claim frequency: Number of claims per 100 policies, indicating how often claims are filed
• Nonrenewal rate: Percentage of policies that were not renewed at expiration — an indicator of insurers withdrawing from a market
• Cancellation rate: Percentage of mid-term policy cancellations initiated by the insurer

Processing Pipeline

1. Download FIO homeowners insurance report datasets for each data year (2018–2022)
2. Parse ZIP-level records exactly as reported by insurers — no values are modified or imputed
3. Where a ZIP code has no data for a given year, that year is shown as unavailable rather than estimated
4. Compute 5-year premium trends by comparing 2022 to 2018 values for ZIP codes present in both years
5. Aggregate to state-level summaries: median premium, average loss ratio, and nonrenewal rates by state
6. Load into our ZIP-indexed database

Data Vintage and Update Frequency

The FIO dataset covers policy years 2018 through 2022, representing the most recent data available from the Treasury Department's homeowners insurance market analysis program. The FIO collects this data directly from insurers under its Dodd-Frank authority, and data compilation and publication typically lags the reporting period by 2–3 years due to the time required to collect, validate, and aggregate submissions from hundreds of insurance companies. PlainInsure updates its database when the FIO releases new reporting years.

Accuracy Commitment

PlainInsure reproduces FIO data exactly as reported by insurers to the Treasury Department. Premium averages, loss ratios, claim frequencies, and market withdrawal rates are presented without editorial modification. ZIP codes where data is unavailable or suppressed (due to insufficient policy volume for statistical reliability) are displayed as unavailable rather than estimated. State-level aggregates are computed directly from the underlying ZIP-level records using policy-count weighting where applicable.

Limitations

• Premiums shown are ZIP-level averages across all participating insurers. Your actual premium depends on property characteristics (age, construction type, square footage), coverage levels, deductible choices, claims history, credit-based insurance score, and insurer-specific underwriting criteria.
• Data covers 2018–2022 only. Significant market changes have occurred since 2022, particularly in states facing climate-driven losses (Florida, California, Louisiana, Texas), where premiums have increased substantially and some insurers have exited the market.
• Not all insurers are represented in the FIO dataset. The FIO collected data from major market participants representing the bulk of the market, but smaller regional insurers, surplus lines carriers, and state-run plans of last resort (FAIR plans) may not be fully included.
• Loss ratios and claim frequencies can be heavily influenced by single catastrophic events (hurricanes, wildfires) in a given year, making year-to-year comparisons volatile in disaster-prone areas.
• Do not rely on this data as the sole basis for insurance purchase decisions. Always obtain quotes from licensed insurers. PlainInsure is not affiliated with the Treasury Department, FIO, or any government agency.

Contact

Questions about our methodology? Contact us.