UNDATED - The deadly firestorm in southern California has decimated communities. And for some, home insurance won’t pick up the cost.

Peggy Holter, lost home in Palisades fire and doesn’t have insurance:“For years the whole condo complex was covered by Farmers Insurance and then they canceled.”

Holter’s condo was destroyed in the Pacific Palisades fire. She says she is only covered by California’s Fair Plan which offers basic state coverage but far less than a typical home insurance policy. Personal finance company Bankrate recently did a study and found 7 of the 12 largest insurance companies have either paused or placed heavy restrictions on new home policies in California in the last year.

Holter: “California should have laws that say that companies can’t just drop you."

But some say laws already passed in California are the problem. U.S. Representative Mike Flood is chair of the Housing Committee. He says California’s policies have made it impossible for some companies to do business in the Golden State.

U.S. Rep. Mike Flood of Norfolk: “Their insurance department would not let insurance companies adequately appraise the risk. What you ended up with was companies pulling out of California and people not insuring their homes if they owned them outright, and an insurance market that is on the brink of collapse.”

And this is not just an issue in California. Extreme weather is impacting home insurance policies and coverage across the country. Last year there were 27 weather and climate disasters across the us with losses exceeding $1 billion each.

Deanne Criswell, FEMA administrator: “We are seeing this increase in the number of severe weather events but not just an increase in the number. It’s the severity of these events.”

As severe weather events become more frequent, many home insurance policies are raising their rates and it’s impacting almost every state. A separate Bankrate survey found the average home insurance costs rose in 35 of the 50 states between 2023 and 2024. Nebraska has become the most expensive in the country according to the report.

Shannon Martin, Bankrate insurance analyst: “What’s happening right now with all those homes being destroyed, we’re going to need a lot of building materials, a lot of labor to put them back together so that could potentially deplete resources in different parts of the country.”

There’s not much homeowners can do to change these rising costs. But Congressman Flood says some relief could be found in incentivizing homeowners to build sturdier structures.

Rep. Flood: “I think one of the things that should be done is we should give homeowners a tax credit so that if they put an impact-resistant roof on their home they can bring that 30% extra cost down and hopefully get rewarded by their insurance company for doing so.”

One thing’s for sure, the cost of insuring a home - especially in Nebraska - likely isn’t going down any time soon.

Rep. Flood: “The storms in Omaha and Lincoln this last summer? They’re not even calculated in our premiums yet.”