House On Fire: Why The U.S. Has Most To Lose In A Warming World

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin An air tanker drops fire retardant over a house during the Toll fire in Calistoga, California on ...

[+] July 2, 2024. A heatwave is sending temperatures soaring resulting in red flag fire warnings throughout the state. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images Home insurance: unavoidable necessity, or unaffordable luxury? The answer might depend on where you live.

In states like California and Florida, insurers are pulling out altogether, as climate-related disasters like floods and wildfires intensify, turning regular business risk into an impossible gamble. Some firms expect home insurance rates across the country to rise an inflation-busting 6% this year, with increases of 23% in states with more severe weather events. Such brutal spikes are putting the possibility of homeownership even further out of reach for many first-time buyers.

So what's going on? In the view of reinsurers—the firms that insure the insurance companies—a prime culprit is climate change. And Swiss Re, the world's second largest reinsurer, warns that when it comes to property, the U.S.

has the most to lose from a warming planet. In a report focusing on 36 nations , the firm concludes that "warming temperatures bring physical repercussions including more intense hazards, which, in turn, can compound loss outcomes." And with losses of $97 billion every year, the U.

S. is losing more from climate.