With the frequency and severity of catastrophic weather events increasing across the country, millions of homeowners in the most vulnerable areas face losing their insurance.
What’s happening
According to a First Street Foundation analysis, 39 million residences are insured through private businesses. However, the prospect of natural disasters has triggered a cascade of events in the insurance business that may jeopardize those homeowners’ financial security.
According to the analysis by the nonprofit climate research group, because each state oversees its private insurance market and can cap policy rates, premiums do not always represent the risk involved for properties in areas prone to wildfires, storms, and floods.
As a result, big insurance firms such as Allstate and Nationwide are no longer profitable in such high-risk locations, leaving current and future consumers scurrying for alternatives.
For example, four insurance companies have already left Florida in the previous year, and State Farm is no longer accepting new applicants in California.
Why is it important?
With no other option except to rely on government-run insurance policies that can cost thousands of dollars each month, homeowners are now faced with the alternative of paying up for rising insurance rates or migrating entirely. When premiums rise, property values fall.
According to the First Street Foundation analysis, premiums for residents in California, where wildfires continue to be an issue, are expected to double when future risk is factored in, resulting in a 39% loss in property value.
The picture was much bleaker for residents of Louisiana and Florida, where hurricanes and flooding are the two most common catastrophic weather disasters. According to Grist, flooding insurance plans for inhabitants of Plaquemines Parish near New Orleans might climb from $824 to $11,296 per year, a startling increase of roughly 1,270%, entirely destroying the value of properties in the area.
“According to the report, actuarially sound pricing will make it unaffordable to live in certain areas as climate impacts emerge.” “It’s shocking, and it’s well documented,” said David Russell, a professor of insurance and finance at California State University Northridge.
What’s being done about it?
In addition to making its findings public, the First Street Foundation administers riskfactor, where anybody in the United States can search for a property to determine the potential climate-related dangers depending on its location.
The company hopes that by providing these tools, customers will be able to make informed decisions and secure their houses from future natural catastrophes, thus lowering insurance costs.
According to Russell, the most likely conclusion is significantly less encouraging.
“Large numbers of people will need to be relocated away from areas that will be uninsurable,” he said. “There is a reckoning on the horizon, and it’s not pretty.”