In the US we’re just beginning to pay the price for what we’ve done. The wealthiest class in the top 10% on the planet (most in the US are in this group), are now feeling just a hint of the pain that is to come. The insurance crisis will bleed out into other economic crises. And we in western nations have not yet begun to experience the food shortages that will come soon enough as the climate emergency creates instability in the agricultural systems of the world.
The home insurance market is crumbling. These owners are paying the price | CNN Business
But as climate change increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather, insurers — especially those in areas most impacted by floods and fires — are raising their premiums, or pulling out altogether, impacting the affordability and availability of home and fire insurance.
Herrera shopped around for a new plan, but he struggled to find a policy. Louisiana Citizens, the insurer of last resort for property owners in the state, was out of the question. It would have cost more than $7,000 annually…
“It’s a very difficult situation,” he said. He never imagined that when he bought his home, private insurance options would be this limited and the last resort insurer would be so expensive…
He never imagined because he, like most in the US, wasn’t paying fucking attention. Climate scientists and activists have been warning for at least two decades that this day would come.
Herrera’s insurance story is common in Louisiana and other places across the country at increasingly higher risk for extreme weather.
There were a record 28 weather and climate disasters with losses totaling over $1 billion last year in America, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. By comparison, between 1980 and 2023, the typical annual average for these events was 8.5.
Just getting started.