Last year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tracked 27 separate weather and climate disasters in the United States that caused over $1 billion in damage, which puts 2024 on track to be the fourth costliest disaster year on record since 1980. While the final insurance claims total is still being calculated, this turbulent year will come on top of nearly $80 billion paid out in 2023, $114 billion in 2022 and $106 billion in 2021.

In our northeast corner of New England, things are more stable by nature, but the devastating floods and deep freezes from the past two years are still influencing 2025’s rates. Everyone feels the impact of these costs even if they have not suffered a personal loss or made a weather-related claim. That’s because insurers must have enough profit to cover the claims, and they do that by raising prices or premiums on the whole consumer base. (Read more about this dynamic from a Hub International expert.)

Suzanne Joyce is Senior Vice President of Hub International New England, with an office in South Portland, Maine. She specializes in the real estate industry, and her job is to find and negotiate the best possible rates for her clients without compromising their coverage. While she feels optimistic in the long term, she sees firsthand the difficulty of navigating costs right now. “During renewals this year, I have had clients asking, ‘What can we cut back on?’” which can “create a whole other pile of problems,” she said.

Instead of decreasing coverage, which Joyce says you do not want to do “ever,” here are some risk management strategies for property owners to protect their assets and prepare for the increasingly stormy years to come.

Get an insurance broker (seriously)

If you do not have the wherewithal to read through your policies, understand them, and then negotiate with a carrier on your own— and who does? —whatever major assets or liabilities you have, from auto to worker’s compensation, would benefit from hiring a professional.

The pile-up of claims has made Joyce’s job more complex over the last few years, and she now suggests planning renewals as early as 120 days before the deadline. “We have to be months out ahead for our clients,” she said. “But we also can’t exhaust the insurance carriers and have them decline to quote,” she added, describing proposed premium rates jumping upwards of 20% along with higher deductibles. “So, for our clients, we don’t want surprises, and we want to feel confident we have looked everywhere in the marketplace to make sure this is the best product for their needs and their budget.”

Make a maintenance checklist, not an insurance claim

Whether you’re a single-property owner or a commercial landlord, it’s time to get to work on that fix-it list because while your insurance premium reflects uncontrollable catastrophes, it is also affected by your personal history of making claims.

Joyce said that in decades past, she would see homeowners’ associations sometimes use their insurance policies as maintenance polices. In this literal and economic climate, you want to avoid making claims for the messy results of what could have been a small problem.

Here are a few new standards to act on:

• Prepare for never-before-seen basement flooding by installing storage racks to get contents off the floor, patching walls and re-evaluating nearby drainage.

• Inspect exteriors for seemingly minor weaknesses that extra high winds could breach.

• Invest in alarms and monitors to prevent water leaks or furnace shut offs, which could lead to frozen pipes.

• Don’t wait until the life of a system or machine runs out. Replace a water heater on your schedule, not when it dies on a cold Sunday night.

• Pay extra mind to vacant properties, including vacant condo or rental units. They should be checked regularly for water damage, signs of pests or other issues.

Know the risks and know who is responsible

After ensuring their real estate portfolios are in tip-top shape with matching insurance policies, Joyce says her biggest concern for her clients is often their risk transfer. “From snow removal to roofing, I want to make sure we have excellent contracts to show the insurance carriers, so that when something goes wrong, the liability rests on the service provider,” she said.

Therefore, never hire any sort of maintenance contractor without reading their Certificate of Insurance. In Maine, you can verify someone’s COI through the state’s online portal. For condo associations, where owners share walls, she says it’s important for bylaws to require individual owners to follow these standards when completing their own maintenance.

For commercial property managers, Joyce also highlighted investing in cybersecurity, including the basics of recognizing a scam, and always checking compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to avoid litigation.

Keep looking forward

Positive change is on the horizon. Expert brokers like Hub International invest in advancing data models to better predict pricing. Through the most recent cycle of seasons, things are beginning to level in the local insurance market. Joyce said she has heard from carriers that 2024 was a profitable year, and she’s planning to have an easier time with renewals in 2026 as she looks for level prices and perhaps a few decreases.

Still, she maintains a sense of caution. “To be honest, I don’t know what we will see in the next few years with Mother Nature,” Joyce said, but rate increases over the last five years or so have been “a huge eye opener” for people. Each year will present unknown challenges, but if people regularly maintain property and keep an eye on risks, and get wise insurance counsel from their broker, they should be able to stabilize their rates and be ready for major storms whenever they arrive.

Don’t weather the storm on your own. Hub International’s brokers and risk management specialists will help you identify exposures. Contact Hub International today to get started.