Insurance risk: Climate change's canary

The effects of climate change are causing an economic crisis for insurance companies. As waters rise, storms strengthen, and floods spread, insurance companies are going out of business, leaving state-backed insurance plans as the insurers of last resort.

A warming planet translates into greater risk to insurance companies; and greater insurance risk translates into higher premiums for everyone else, according to an op-ed in The New York Times. Here in Colorado, the Marshall fire destroyed 1,000 homes in 2021, causing over $2 billion worth of damage and a 17% year-over-year increase in insurance premiums, state-wide. For all the climate change appeals centered on ethics and caring for future generations, sometimes it’s the cold, hard economic truths that wake people up.