"Climate Shocks Are Making Parts of America Uninsurable. It Just Got Worse."

"The largest insurer in California said it would stop offering new coverage. It’s part of a broader trend of companies pulling back from dangerous areas."

"The climate crisis is becoming a financial crisis.

This month, the largest homeowner insurance company in California, State Farm, announced that it would stop selling coverage to homeowners. That’s not just in wildfire zones, but everywhere in the state.

Insurance companies, tired of losing money, are raising rates, restricting coverage or pulling out of some areas altogether — making it more expensive for people to live in their homes.

“Risk has a price,” said Roy Wright, the former official in charge of insurance at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and now head of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, a research group. “We’re just now seeing it.”"

Christopher Flavelle, Jill Cowan and Ivan Penn report for the New York Times May 31, 2023.

SEE ALSO:

"Florida Intensifies Oversight Of Insurers After They Cut Disaster Estimates" (Washington Post)

"How Is Climate Change Limiting Access To Insurance?" (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

Source: NYTimes, 06/01/2023