WASHINGTON—A growing number of homeowners have concerns about the impact of extreme weather events on their homes, a new report shows.
As part of a recent Fannie Mae National Housing Survey (NHS) special topic analysis, its Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) Group surveyed homeowners and renters on their experiences with and concerns regarding a broad range of weather-related events, including extreme heat, strong winds (from hurricanes and tornadoes), drought, wildfires, and flooding.
The survey asked consumers which weather-related events concern them, whether they think potential damage from such events will impact their insurance premiums, and where they’re likeliest to turn for reliable information on these topics, Fannie Mae said.
The Findings
Among the findings:
- Nearly half of respondents expressed concern about the impact of extreme weather events on their homes, but they’re especially concerned about excessive wind and heat. As expected, geographic location has a significant influence on the weather-related events that are of greatest concern to consumers: Strong winds are the biggest concern in the Northeast, Midwest, and South, while extreme heat is the biggest concern in the West. Additionally, a quarter of respondents reported having experienced weather-related damage to their current home, Fannie Mae said.
- Two-in-three insured homeowners said weather-related events and damage have had an impact on their home insurance premiums. Additionally, two-thirds of homeowners have taken precautionary measures to reduce damage risk to their home, according to Fannie Mae.
- Consumers trust a mix of sources to determine the risk of weather-related damage to their homes. Their preferred “source of truth” includes insurance agents (40%), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (or FEMA, 35%), and friends and family (32%), Fannie Mae said.
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