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Texas Homeowners Insurance Rates Down, Still Above National Average

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Texas homeowners didn't pay the highest insurance rates in 2013, but rates still exceeded the national average.

Texas homeowners may be paying among the highest insurance rates in the country– but at least they’re no longer the highest. 

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners' latest report says while premiums for Texas homeowners have dropped to third in the nation, they’re still above the national average. 

Rates in other states are higher, in part, because the figures now include the cost of windstorm insurance. Mark Hanna of the Insurance Council of Texas says the states with the top rates have something else in common.

“Texas rates have probably been the most stable. All of the others have shot up," Hanna says. "There are various reasons for that. This ... report is now including accurate windstorm data and that’s bumped up Florida and Louisiana. The other states, just weather: Mississippi, Oklahoma and Alabama. All of those have had very violent thunderstorms and they have a history of it.”

The state with the highest average homeowners insurance rates: Florida.

Nathan Bernier is the transportation reporter at KUT. He covers the big projects that are reshaping how we get around Austin, like the I-35 overhaul, the airport's rapid growth and the multibillion dollar transit expansion Project Connect. He also focuses on the daily changes that affect how we walk, bike and drive around the city. Got a tip? Email him at nbernier@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @KUTnathan.
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