news
From Vox
Summary
- Insurance companies are dropping customers due to increasing risks related to climate change, leading to rising rates and limited coverage options.
- Consumers can try to reconsider with their insurer, shop around for alternatives, or explore emerging options like parametric insurance.
- The underlying issue driving insurance problems is the increasing frequency and severity of disasters due to climate change, requiring a global effort to reduce emissions and adapt to the changing environment.
Key quotes:
- One option, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) guide to home insurance cancellations: Ask your insurer to reconsider. You don’t even have to hold up a boombox outside your insurance agent’s office — just call and ask why you were dropped and whether there’s anything you can do to make them reconsider, like installing fire alarms or upgrading fixtures.
- That’s not something an individual can do on their own. Reducing climate risk demands global efforts to curb the emissions of greenhouse gasses as well as large-scale work to adapt to the shifts already underway. It requires actions on the part of governments and the largest companies in the world.
- For an individual shopping for a home, the CFPB says it’s time to add climate risk to the list of factors influencing your decision on where to buy alongside school districts, recessed lighting, and granite countertops. Pay attention to flood zones and wildfire hazard maps.
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