For you, summer ending means the pool closes and the kids go back to school.
For your carrier, summer ending means the loss data is final. And in Illinois this year, that data is ugly.
The Storms Didn’t Skip Illinois This Year
Northern Illinois took a beating in August. Hail, wind, and flooding hit hard enough that homeowners were filing claims before the sirens even stopped.
This wasn’t a bad week.
This was a pattern.
State Farm’s own weather data shows tornado and hail risk in Illinois accelerating over the last two years, not flattening out. That’s not one rough summer. That’s a state carriers are recalibrating around, right now, while your clients are still thinking about back to school.
The Rate Increases Already Happened, and They’re Not Done
Illinois home insurance premiums are up 68% since 2020. State Farm alone pushed through a 27% homeowners rate increase last year, before this summer’s losses got priced in.
That’s the number that should stop you.
Every client who thinks their renewal is going to look like last year’s renewal is about to be wrong. And they’re going to find that out from a letter, not from you, right when they’re least ready for the conversation.
What To Do About It Before October
Don’t let the renewal notice be the first conversation.
- Pull your book and flag anything with a roof over 15 years old or prior hail claims.
- Call those clients now, before the renewal does the talking for you.
- Get ahead of the “why did my rate go up” call with the real answer. It’s not them. It’s the state.
- Push wind mitigation credits and roof documentation where they can actually move the number.
A renewal surprise isn’t a pricing problem. It’s a retention problem you created by staying quiet.
Illinois isn’t calming down. The carriers already told you that with their pricing.
Your job this September is to make sure your clients hear it from you first.
No hype here. Just the numbers the carriers already priced in.
If your policy hasn’t been reviewed since this summer’s storms, don’t wait for a renewal letter to tell you what changed. Contact The Insurance Alliance. We’ll walk your coverage line by line and tell you straight where you stand before Illinois’ next renewal cycle hits.
