Montgomery County homeowners insured by State Farm face an average 5.8% rate increase starting Nov. 1, even as state officials say insurance costs are trending down.

State Farm Lloyds, the largest homeowners insurer in Texas with about 19% market share, filed a 4% statewide rate increase on July 29, as first reported by ABC13 in an investigation of Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) records. The Montgomery County figure is steeper than the statewide average and higher than Harris County at 3.6% and Fort Bend County at 5.3%.

The filing hits renewing policies Nov. 1.

TDI announced Thursday, Oct. 8, that homeowners rate filings over the past 90 days averaged a 4.3% decrease. Insurance Commissioner Amanda Crawford called the trend encouraging in a TDI press release and urged Texans to shop around. Gov. Greg Abbott said in the same release he would work with the Legislature next session to curb premium increases.

But ABC13's investigation found the 4.3% figure is a simple average that counts a small insurer the same as the state's largest. TDI spokesperson Mistie Hinote confirmed that distinction.

"The average isn't weighted by premium volume or number of policyholders," Hinote said. "Individual company trends will vary."

State Farm estimates that of its roughly 987,000 Texas homeowners policies, 751,000 would see increases and 234,000 would see decreases under the filing. More than 135,000 policies statewide would rise 10% or more. By the company's own count, it would raise rates on more policies than the 700,000 policyholders TDI said are getting cuts across all companies combined.

State Farm's internal analysis supported a rate need of 10.9%, according to its filing memo. The company cited poor liability loss experience, severe storms and rising insured home values in its filing, acknowledging "favorable results in 2025" but saying those factors still put upward pressure on rates.

TDI has not finished reviewing the filing. In a written objection on the public record, regulators asked State Farm to explain its rate need given favorable 2025 industry results and falling reinsurance costs. State Farm's Texas homeowners business recorded roughly $541 million in net underwriting profit in 2025, according to TDI's annual market report.

The rate increase adds to years of climbing costs. TDI data shows weighted average homeowners rate changes of 21.1% in 2023 and 18.7% in 2024 before moderating to 4.3% in 2025. The average annual homeowners premium in Texas reached $3,489 in 2025, up from $1,987 in 2020, according to TDI's market overview.

No specific date has been set for TDI to complete its review of the State Farm filing. Residents can search active rate filings on TDI's website.