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Best of the West - Explanatory Reporting

Boise State Public Radio News
Published February 13, 2026 at 1:14 PM MST
Dave and Sandy Nabbefeld in front of their retirement in Idaho’s Garden Valley, near the small town of Crouch. They’ve had their insurance canceled twice, and worry it could still happen again. “It’s scary because we don’t know what’s going to happen this fall,” Dave said. “And it's coming up, it's going to be here before we know it.”
Murphy Woodhouse
/
Boise State Public Radio
Dave and Sandy Nabbefeld in front of their retirement in Idaho’s Garden Valley, near the small town of Crouch. They’ve had their insurance canceled twice, and worry it could still happen again. “It’s scary because we don’t know what’s going to happen this fall,” Dave said. “And it's coming up, it's going to be here before we know it.”

THE WEST'S INSURANCE CRISIS

Over the course of 2025, the Mountain West News Bureau (MWNB) did a deep dive on the serious and growing homeowners insurance crisis impacting communities across the region. Premiums are soaring, policyholders are losing coverage with little explanation and real estate markets are being threatened. Reporters Murphy Woodhouse and Rachel Cohen spoke with numerous experts, policymakers, advocates and regular people across the West worried about what this all means for their roofs over their heads.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR JUDGES: This entry includes three features, one dedicated website for our coverage with interactive maps and one interview. To not exceed the category's limit of five elements, judges can choose to either read or listen to the features (playable audio is up top on the stories linked below). With the dedicated insurance reporting page, the interactive maps built by the MWNB may strike you as the most sensible element to judge, but we'll defer to you all.

PACKAGE ELEMENTS

FEATURE 1: A home insurance crisis is building in the Mountain West. State leaders are struggling to respond

The Middle Fork of the Payette River near Sandy and Dave Nabbefeld's Garden Valley Home. Boise County, which includes Crouch and other rural Idaho towns, had the highest insurance cancellation rate in the state in 2023.
Murphy Woodhouse
/
Boise State Public Radio
The Middle Fork of the Payette River near Crouch, Idaho. Boise County, which includes several rural mountain towns, had the highest insurance cancellation rate in the state in 2023.

INTERVIEW: Losing coverage: Mountain West homeowners face an insurance crisis (the audio begins with the audio from the feature above, and the interview begins around 9:20)

Kip McBean’s home in the Garden Valley.
Murphy Woodhouse
/
Boise State Public Radio
Kip McBean, the owner of this home in the Garden Valley, has seen his insurance premiums jump dramatically in recent years.

FEATURE 2: Scientists chase storms through the Mountain West to study hail’s growing toll

Landon Moeller
/
ICECHIP
Scientists set up measure devices to capture hail observations near Dodge City, Kan. as part of Landon Moeller
ICECHIP. The project is the largest field study of hail in the U.S. in 40 years.

DEDICATED PAGE: Mountain West News Bureau Homeowners Insurance Resources

FEATURE 3: As evidence of Idaho homeowners insurance crisis mounts, so does bipartisan concern

In the middle of the couch from left, Steve "Snaggletooth" Buscemi, Blue and Shorty get scritches from their owners Wendy and Larry Nevers. The Nevers have faced significant homeowners insurance premium increases over their first year living in Idaho.
Murphy Woodhouse
/
Boise State Public Radio
In the middle of the couch from left, Steve "Snaggletooth" Buscemi, Blue and Shorty get scritches from their owners Wendy and Larry Nevers. The Nevers have faced significant homeowners insurance premium increases over their first year living in Idaho.

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