Texas Homeowners Pay Highest US Insurance Premiums

An industry group says Texas homeowners are paying the highest insurance premiums in the country.

The report was released Tuesday by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

The Dallas Morning News reported the study is based on premiums collected in 2010, the most recent year for available nationwide data.

The average annual cost of the most commonly sold policy in Texas was $1,560, about 3.2 percent more than figures from a year earlier. The national average was $909.

Rick Gentry of the Insurance Council of Texas says adverse weather creates losses. He says such losses, from catastrophes such as tornadoes, hailstorms and hurricanes, drive the price of insurance.

Alex Winslow with the consumer group Texas Watch says prices continue to climb while coverage is getting slashed.