Insurance industry officials defended recent homeowners insurance rate spikes this week, blaming such factors as inflation and climate change while warning that attempts to regulate their ability to set rates would be bad for consumers.

In testimony during a virtual meeting Wednesday of the Senate Insurance Committee, officials pushed back against criticisms by Gov. JB Pritzker and legislative leaders who said the hikes raise suspicions that Illinois homeowners are being charged extra to help cover insurance losses caused by wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters elsewhere in the country.

Robert Gordon, a senior vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, said property losses from natural disasters are common in Illinois, and they have been growin

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