Wednesday, August 21, 2019

It’s official: Parts of California are too wildfire-prone to insure — Nathanael Johnson

California is facing yet another real estate-related crisis, but we’re not talking about its sky-high home prices. According to newly released data, it’s simply become too risky to insure houses in big swaths of the wildfire-prone state.
Last winter when we wrote about home insurance rates possibly going up in the wake of California’s massive, deadly fires, the insurance industry representatives we interviewed were skeptical. They noted that the stories circulating in the media about people in forested areas losing their homeowners’ insurance was based on anecdotes, not data. But now, the data is in and it’s really happening: Insurance companies aren’t renewing policies areas climate scientists say are likely to burn in giant wildfires in coming years....
I had friends burned out in the recent fires and insurance paid for it. With insurance it was still a disaster, not only materially but also psychologically. Without insurance?

The Midwest is affected by the opposite issue — flooding. And the coasts are being threatened by sea level rise.

Big changes coming economically and financially.

Grist
It’s official: Parts of California are too wildfire-prone to insure
Nathanael Johnson

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