""The risk of many weather-related extreme events is growing as the planet warms, and some of those impacts are coming fast and furious now," says Carolyn Kousky, an economic policy expert at the Environmental Defense Fund and longtime property insurance researcher. Disaster costs are also rising because people continue to move to coastal regions vulnerable to hurricanes and to forested areas prone to wildfires."
"Nationwide, the cost of home insurance rose about 8% faster than overall inflation between 2018 and 2022, according to a landmark report published by the Treasury Department in January. As losses from disasters mount, insurers are passing the costs on to consumers. "We've seen growing prices everywhere," Kousky says. That's hitting family budgets that are already stretched thin by rising food and transportation costs."
"Home insurance is required for most homeowners in the U.S. who have a mortgage. And if you rent, your landlord probably passes along the rising cost of insurance by raising your rent. "If people want to keep building more expensive homes in areas with high climate risk, the cost to insure those are going to increase," says Robert Gordon, a senior vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, an industry group."
Home insurance costs and availability are worsening across the United States as disaster losses grow. Climate change is increasing frequency and severity of hurricanes, floods and wildfires, accelerating weather-related extreme events. Population shifts toward coastal and forested areas place more property in harm's way. Rising inflation, especially in building materials, raises rebuilding costs. Insurers are responding by raising premiums and pulling back from high-risk regions, transferring costs to consumers. Rising premiums strain household budgets and can increase rents as landlords pass on insurance expenses. The trend is expected to worsen as climate risks intensify.
Read at www.npr.org
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