Home Insurance

Major insurers have stopped issuing new home policies in California, echoing a pattern long familiar in hurricane- and flood-prone states such as Florida. Rising disaster losses, higher reinsurance costs, and regulatory constraints are intensifying pressure on insurers and on public backstops—highlighting the growing urgency of land-use, building-code, and risk-disclosure reforms.

Climate change is pushing Australian home insurance premiums higher and putting coverage out of reach for some households. A new approach adopted in California—allowing forward-looking climate and catastrophe models in pricing, but requiring insurers to expand coverage in high-risk areas—highlights one possible path to keep cover available, reduce sharp post-disaster price swings, and encourage safer homes over time.