Natural disasters

The path to more effective hurricane preparedness lies in proactive planning, automation, and the efficient utilization of data and analytics.

The convergence of more frequent weather events that affect more people plus higher customer expectations make now a great time to get ready to communicate with the masses.

(Bloomberg) --California's insurance commissioner announced a new regulatory plan backed by the industry that would allow insurers to factor future climate risks into their pricing and require them to offer more coverage in fire-prone areas.

Climate change presents uncertainty for insurance companies but also creates opportunities for technological innovation

First Street estimates that 39 million U.S. homes are insured at artificially suppressed prices compared with the risk they actually face. Of those, nearly 6.8 million homes are covered by state-backed "insurer of last resort" policies.

The lawsuit requests the creation of an abatement fund to finance climate mitigation efforts, an injunction to protect California's natural resources, damages and penalties.

The gap highlights the problem of under-insurance in a state that's the nation's fastest growing and also one of the most vulnerable to impacts of climate change, and where the insurance industry is already under strain.

Looking at lessons from past disastrous fires, here are steps that can help reduce fire risk at the home and community level.

Consumer advocate notes that insurance regulators' standard for data collection lags regulators of other types of financial services

The growth in market share comes as the national insurance program has instituted a risk-based pricing regime that's led to some fluctuation in rates.

The use of catastrophe models and of sophisticated AI to make coverage decisions are all under debate.

Driven by weather catastrophes and higher building costs, new research showed.

"The main climate factors expected to influence the 2023 Atlantic hurricane activity are the ongoing El Nino and the warm phase of the Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation, including record-warm Atlantic sea surface temperatures," said NOAA's Matthew Rosencrans.

Mario Greco, who led his firm out of the Net Zero Insurance Alliance earlier this year amid a wider exodus from the group, has spoken out against the network of voluntary climate alliances that represent some of the biggest names in global finance, calling them "political and bureaucratic."

Total global insured losses from natural catastrophes were about $50 billion from January through June.

Last month, Farmers Insurance Co. said it would limit sales of new home insurance coverage in California. In May, State Farm General Insurance Co., the state's biggest home insurer, said it would stop writing new policies altogether. Allstate Corp. halted the sale of new policies in the state last year.

Weather is unpredictable everywhere, and travel insurance policies can vary tremendously.

As climate change worsens, insurance coverage is expected to shrink further as rising premiums choke demand and insurers withdraw from particularly exposed areas, according to statements from the European Central Bank.

Property insurance premiums for US solar facilities have soared as much as 50% over the past year, threatening to slow their rollout and derail global efforts to cut carbon emissions.

Rising temperatures are disrupting economic activity and daily life across the globe, sapping crops, drying rivers and raising sea levels.