Projection: 1 Million FL Properties Will Become Chronically Flooded,W. Losses Of $619 Billion

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2. Big Picture

The battle over climate change was waged for decades between the fossil fuel industry and the insurance industry; the 2 industries with the most to loose over addressing this problem. We all know who won that existential battle in the political arena (fossil fuel industry).

What we have failed to see is that the fossil fuel industry's political victory hasn't altered the situation. Climate is changing, the planet is warming causing sea-levels to rise (via land-ice melting and expansion in the water column as oceans warm). Thus the cost to replace assets in harms way as the climate warms (this includes areas prone to more wild fires) is increasing. This is a direct cost applied to the current situation.

Under normal market conditions, increased insurance costs should correct the problem of building in areas where structures would be routinely damaged. But politicians (and the people who elect them) are not allowing this self-correction to occur. They have fixed insurance rates, started state or federal insurance programs (that aren't market driven) to continue to allow building in inappropriate areas. In the long term, this is folly. It's even more ironic because all of the "capitalist" favoring parties sure are pushing government based solutions instead of letting the insurance market correct for these "mistakes".