Buying a home is likely the biggest purchase a resident will make in their lifetime – and it’s why protecting that asset is so critical. But far too often, sustainable homeownership is unattainable – simply because homeowners insurance is too expensive. Across the country, that protection is slipping out of reach. Since 2021, average homeowners’ insurance premiums have climbed 46%, roughly three times the pace of inflation, and are projected to reach about $3,057 this year. More than half of homeowners surveyed say they have made financial sacrifices just to afford coverage.
A national problem, felt most in Detroit
In Detroit, the squeeze is even tighter. The average homeowner pays $2,327 a year for insurance, 64% more than the average Michigan homeowner. A recent University of Michigan survey that we funded found that 38% of Detroit homeowners without a mortgage are uninsured, nearly double the national rate of 19.5%. Cost was the most common reason, and 41% of uninsured homeowners said coverage was simply too expensive.
The consequences go beyond one household. Without insurance, a single fire or storm can erase a family’s largest asset. Uninsured homeowners can also be shut out of certain home loans, and across a neighborhood, low coverage rates can feed a cycle of disinvestment.
“Faced with unaffordable homeowners insurance costs, many Detroit homeowners are forced to go uninsured or underinsured,” said Aditi Ramirez, Principal at Economic Architecture. “This puts the homeowner and the entire neighborhood at greater risk.”
Why we invested
Rocket Community Fund’s mission is to ensure every resident has access to safe and stable housing, and to make long-term homeownership viable. Insurance is a hidden piece of that puzzle.
“Homeownership should be a pathway to stability and generational wealth, not a source of financial vulnerability,” said Laura Grannemann, Executive Director of Rocket Community Fund.
It’s this dedication to making sustainable homeownership a reality that led us to invest in Economic Architecture’s Insure & Save program. The research named the barrier, and our next step was to help test a solution. Project 2.5 asks whether homeowners insurance in Detroit can be made affordable without leaving families unprotected, and Insure & Save puts that question into practice by connecting homeowners with insurance carriers and agents, at no cost, to find policies that fit their needs and budgets.
“Research from Poverty Solutions pointed to one clear barrier: cost. It’s the number one reason residents go uninsured, cancel their coverage, or never apply at all,” said Rachel Ableser, Program Manager at Rocket Community Fund. “More than half of Detroit homeowners are mortgage-free, so they aren’t required to carry insurance, and with prices this high, 38% of them go without. That leaves families one event away from displacement and from losing the equity they’ve spent years building. Affordable insurance is a foundation for stable homeownership. When homeowners have coverage they can afford, they know their home is protected, and the money they save leads to greater prosperity.”
What the early results show
In a hands-on Phase II pilot, 13 Detroit homeowners worked with Economic Architecture and six insurance agents. Every homeowner who met with an agent received a quote 30% to 50% lower than their current or most recent coverage. The median reduction was 39%, and no one was denied.
“Insure & Save works with homeowners to define their insurance needs and customize a policy accordingly,” said Ramirez. “That approach is better for the homeowner, the insurance carrier and every other stakeholder. By participating, homeowners have saved an average of 40% on their homeowners insurance.”
What comes next
Phase III is an expanded market test reaching ten times as many homeowners. It will help answer the bigger question: can this approach work at scale, in Detroit and beyond?
If you know a Detroit homeowner who may be uninsured or underinsured, Insure & Save enrollment has been extended through November 15. Learn more by emailing insureandsave@economicarchitectureproject.org.