US property claims fall 8.9% in first quarter of 2026

Investing.com -- US property claim volume dropped 8.9% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, marking the fifth straight quarterly decline since the first quarter of 2025, according to a Verisk report.

Claim volume was 13.13% below the five-year average, despite significant winter storm activity during the period.

Texas recorded the highest claim volume in the quarter, followed by Ohio and California. The three states combined accounted for nearly a quarter of all claims. Claims in Texas and California resulted from multiple weather events, while Ohio's claims were driven primarily by a single wind event.

Alaska, Arizona and Montana recorded the largest year-over-year increases, rising 121%, 78% and 49%, respectively.

Florida saw the steepest decline, with claims down 65.7%. The state dropped from 21st to 34th in the rankings. South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina also posted declines of 51.83%, 39.73% and 39.44%, respectively.

The declines reflected comparisons with the first quarter of 2025, which included a high volume of late-reported Hurricane Milton claims from the fourth quarter of 2024.

Catastrophe claims fell 9.58% year over year, while non-catastrophe claims declined 8.56%. Catastrophe claims accounted for 33% of the total.

Total reconstruction costs rose 3.4% year over year in the US and 2.5% in Canada. Fuel costs rose 42.70% in the US and 39.69% in Canada during the quarter.

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