How the Climate Crisis Became an Insurance Crisis

Newsletter Even in formerly low-risk areas, home insurers are raising premiums and ending coverage. The upheaval could push down home values and reverberate through the economy. Spend enough time talking about climate change, and youll eventually get pulled toward this question: What would have to happen for global warming to strike most people as an urgent crisis? There are many candidates: More hitting major American cities, coupled with . Extended droughts across Americas farmland, on top of the decades-long depletion of groundwater, leading to . A two-foot rise in sea levels caused by the in Antarctica, putting entire coastal regions in the United States underwater. Those scenarios seem a long way off to many Americans (even if they might not be). But what if the thing that will make climate change feel like a crisis to most everyone is already underway across the country? What if its the erosion of something entirely mundane, even a little boring, but also essential to modern life? My colleague Mira Rojanasakul and I have spent most of this year digging into how climate shocks are . What weve found looks an awful lot like the early stages of a crisis. As climate-fueled disasters get worse, home insurance is becoming a money-losing business in more of the country. Without insurance, you cant get a mortgage; without a mortgage, most Americans cant buy a home. Last year, insurers lost money on homeowners coverage in 18 states, up from 12 states five years ago and eight states in 2013. Nationally, over the past decade, insurers paid out more in claims than they received in premiums, and, since 2018, more than 1.9 million home insurance contracts nationwide have been dropped. States where homeowners insurance was . 2013 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 2023 Colo. Colo. Mass. Colo. Calif. Calif. Colo. Ala. Colo. Ark. Ark. Ga. Iowa R.I. Mont. Colo. Colo. Fla. Ark. Iowa Ariz. Colo. Ill. Ill. S.D. N.D. Fla. Conn. Ill. Del. Idaho Fla. Ga. Miss. Mich. Neb. Ga. D.C. Minn. Fla. Ky. Ga. Hawaii Mont. Mont. N.M. Iowa Fla. Mont. Ga. La. Iowa Iowa Neb. Neb. Texas Idaho Ga. ND Iowa Mich. Md. Ill. Okla. S.D. Wyo. Ill. Idaho Neb. Ill. Minn. Minn. Ind. S.D. Vt. Minn. Md. Wyo. La. Texas Mont. Ky. Neb. NC Minn. Neb. Mich. N.M. S.D. Miss. N.M. Minn. S.D. Va. Ore. Ohio Mo. Texas Wyo. S.D. S.D. Miss. Tenn. Wash. Ohio Utah Wis. Okla. Wyo. Tenn. Utah Wash. Wis. States where homeowners insurance was 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Col . Col . ass. Col . Cali . Cali . Col . Ala. Col . Ark. Ark. Ga. owa .I. ont. Col . Col . Fla. Ark. owa Ariz. Col . ll. ll. S. . N. . Fla. Conn. ll. Del. daho Fla. Ga. Miss. Mich. e . Ga. D.C. Minn. Fla. y Ga. awaii ont. ont. N.M. owa Fla. ont. Ga. La. owa owa e . e . e as daho Ga. ND owa Mich. Md. ll. Okla. S. . y . ll. daho e . ll. Minn. Minn. Ind. S. . Vt. Minn. Md. y . La. e as ont. y e . NC Minn. e . Mich. N.M. S. . Miss. N.M. Minn. S. . a. Or . Ohio o e as y . S. . S. . Miss. enn. ash. Ohio Utah Wis. Okla. y . enn. Utah ash. Wis. Source: AM Best by Mira Rojanasakul/The New York Times NONRENEWAL RATES, 2023 1 in 200 1 in 100 1 in 50 1 in 25 State rate shown NONRENEWAL RATES, 2023 1 in 200 1 in 100 1 in 50 1 in 25 State rate shown Note: The state average is shown in counties with few policies reported. Source: U.S. Senate Budget Committee by Mira Rojanasakul/The New York Times We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and your Times account, or for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? . Want all of The Times? .