Cutting palm trees to harvest fruit? Better to let trees grow
Scientists have shown for the first time the widespread harm caused in Peru by cutting down the palm tree Mauritia flexuosa in order to harvest its fruit. The scientists examined where and why the trees were felled, producing detailed maps and analysis to reveal the extent of the environmental and economic damage caused by cutting […]
Lockton: The burning cost of wildfire risk
https://global.lockton.com/gb/en/news-insights/the-burning-cost-of-wildfire-risk Wildfires have dramatically increased in both frequency and severity. This is no longer an issue affecting a small number of geographies, but now a global challenge with catastrophic consequences to both life and property. Some sectors of the economy are particularly affected by expanding liability risks and an action plan is needed to prevent […]
Rand Study: California Wildfires Can Insurance Markets Handle the Risk?
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RBA635-1.html ildfires in California destroy thousands of structures each year, and in 2017 that number jumped to 10,800. In 2018, wildfires wrought even greater destruction, with more than 22,000 structures destroyed, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Those conflagrations can devastate homeowners and bring heavy costs for the insurance industry. […]
MunichRe: Clear indicators that climate change is changing the risks
https://www.munichre.com/en/risks/natural-disasters-losses-are-trending-upwards/wildfires-as-the-climate-changes-so-do-the-risks.html Each year, wildfires cause billions in losses – particularly in the USA. What’s more, higher temperatures and prolonged spells of dry weather are also changing the risk situation in other regions. Wildfires primarily occur after prolonged dry spells where the air temperature is high. Dry vegetation can then be easily ignited, starting a wildfire […]
S&P: As US wildfire threat grows, insurance capacity shrinks
Author: Tom JacobsKris Elaine Figuracion https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/as-us-wildfire-threat-grows-insurance-capacity-shrinks-65478993 The prospect of another severe fire season continues to impact the homeowners insurance market. Aon PLC in a recent white paper said the market continues to restrict capacity to cover wildfires as the events become larger and more frequent. Insured losses from wildfires in the U.S. have exceeded $13 […]
As Wildfire Risk Increases, Home Insurance Is Harder to Find
By: Sophie Quinton https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2019/01/03/as-wildfire-risk-increases-home-insurance-is-harder-to-find But since 2014, more than 15,000 homes in medium or extreme fire-risk areas have turned to the state’s lender of last resort, the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan, which insurance companies created to serve people unable to find coverage elsewhere. Premiums also are rising in high-risk areas, Kincaid said. […]
California continues to face wildfire risks. Insurers think they have an answer.
By DEBRA KAHN https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2021/12/30/california-continues-to-face-wildfire-risks-insurers-think-they-have-an-answer-1403191 Enter the insurance industry, which says it can no longer afford to back homes facing a high risk of burning up each year. It’s pushing for a new model that would account for future climate change risks — an approach that California has been alone in resisting. “People don’t want to […]
California wildfires ignite an insurance crisis
BY DAN WALTERS https://calmatters.org/commentary/2021/09/california-wildfires-ignite-an-insurance-crisis/ As if California needed another crisis, the state’s seemingly perpetual wildfires are forcing millions of homeowners in fire-prone areas to pay skyrocketing premiums for insurance coverage — if, indeed, they can buy it at all. As the number and severity of wildfires increase, insurers are increasingly reluctant to renew policies and even […]
As Wildfires Get Costlier and Deadlier, Insurers and Utilities Pay the Price
By Rob Bailey Director of Climate Resilience at Marsh McLennan Advantage https://www.brinknews.com/as-wildfires-get-costlier-and-deadlier-insurers-and-utilities-pay-the-price/ This summer, we have seen devastating climate-related disasters occurring across the world. Record-breaking wildfires are lasting longer and burning more land due to historic heatwaves and drier conditions. Many believe that we have entered a fiery new normal. But the “new normal” framing […]
Wildfires are a significant risk for property owners across the United States
Link: https://content.naic.org/cipr-topics/wildfires While some estimates indicate nearly 90 percent of wildfires are caused by human activity, evidence indicates that severity of wildfires in recent years may be linked to changing climate and weather variability. Climatic changes are likely influencing recent wildfire trends. Wildfire seasons are starting earlier, due to warmer spring temperatures and earlier snow melt, and […]