For some US residents, it is now impossible to get home insurance - and all because of the climate crisis
The rising incidence of wildfires means many Californians can no longer insure their property. Its a sign of whats ahead for the whole housing market I nsurance company documents arent exactly renowned for being riveting reading. This week, however, State Farm, the largest insurance firm in the US by premium volume, came out with an eyeball-grabbing update: it has stopped accepting new homeowner insurance applications in California. In a statement, the company said the decision was based on the heightened risk of natural disasters, such as wildfires, along with historic increases in construction costs. This news didnt come out of nowhere. Last year, two large insurance firms in California ended their coverage for some multimillion-dollar houses in wildfire-prone areas. We cannot charge an adequate price for the risk, one insurance company CEO explained in an earnings call. But the scope of this announcement seems unprecedented. The USs biggest insurer halting new policies in the USs most populous state? A state with a population of nearly 40 million suddenly having its home insurance options curtailed because insurance companies know that extreme weather is only getting worse and more expensive? If this doesnt serve as a wake-up call about the climate crisis, I dont know what will. Melting ice caps may be abstract enough to ignore, but plummeting house prices have a way of getting peoples attention. House prices havent plummeted yet, of course. Quite the opposite: California is an incredibly expensive place to live. But if you cant get insurance, its almost impossible to get a mortgage. This makes it harder to sell your house and will make prices go down. The writing is on the wall, as insurance companies are well aware. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist