The situation at hand: A vague picture
In California, Florida and Louisiana, the last couple of months, many homeowners’ insurers have gone bankrupt due to the mass claims during the horrible storms and weather.
This brings into question how available the insurances still are and how much you can protect your home against these events. In other words: Is the climate change, affecting the availability of insurance?
Of course, no insurer wants to spend too much money, because they are all about making money. So setting up shop in vulnerable areas, might be a bad idea for the larger companies that have choices.
President Joe Biden has announced an executive order to check the statements and offers of over 200 large insurance companies, to see if this idea is reality or just a thought.
Why is this research necessary?
Without any observation, many insurance companies are free to do whatever they want and get away with a lot of things that might influence inequality.
If you live in a ‘safe’ area, where the impacts of climate change have less impact on extreme weather that can damage your living, you might have many options to personalize your insurance at. This also comes with a lot cheaper price, as the insurance company has a low risk of paying out.
If you live in a ‘non-safe’ area though, the high risk might make it impossible for you to get a personalized insurance, an affordable one, or sometimes even an insurance at all.
This is obviously playing into inequality and plays into the hand of debt of people living in these areas, as they will have to pay for repairs themselves.
With this research, it becomes clear what insurance companies are doing and perhaps legislation could be passed to make homeowners’ insurances available to people in all places.
What can I do to secure my homeowners’ insurance?
Unfortunately, it is hard to prepare yourself for a bankruptcy of your insurer. It is therefore crucial to do your own research and find out what companies there are in your area, whether you live in Utah, Texas or anywhere else in the United States.
A larger company is less likely to fall and usually has more money backing it to pay out claims in these kinds of situations.
It could be that smaller companies offer better rates, but remember that if you live in a high-risk area, you will not get anything if the company goes bankrupt.
Reliability and responsibility are two main key factors in choosing your homeowners’ insurance. But, of course every individual situation is different and you should pick the offer that fits your needs and financial situation.