Insurers pull back as US climate catastrophes intensify
Outlet: The Hill
The insurance industry is increasingly wary of the risks presented by climate and natural disasters, prompting major firms to scale back their presence in more vulnerable states. Benjamin Keys, Assistant Professor of Real Estate at the Wharton School chimes in on the nationwide impact.
“This isn’t just a story about Florida and California — all over the country, there are insurers who are less willing to take risks,” from those along major rivers to areas vulnerable to tornadoes, said Benjamin Keys, an assistant professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
Keys also noted that the decisions don’t mean the insurers will never write policies or operate in the state again. Rather, he said, they should be understood as a way for insurers to negotiate, both on what they can charge in premiums and what factors they can weigh.