Insurance is an important aspect to consider if you wish your property to be sustainable. The rising number of extreme weather events due to climate change and the increasing cost of damages as a result of these events, make climate change a factor that profoundly affects insurance companies, and eventually their customers (us).
In this blog post, we attempt to help you become aware of risks your property is exposed to and the types of insurance available, alongside their coverage, their cost and potential options for cost reduction.
In this blog we cover:
The Risks Your Property Is Exposed To
Wind Insurance
Wildfire Insurance
Flood Insurance
Earthquake Insurance
Additional Opportunities For Discounts
Climate Insurance Is Changing
Insurance Companies Have the Power to Make a Change
References
The Risks Your Property Is Exposed To
Insurance is a form of risk management. The first step in the risk management process is identifying the risk. What are the risks that extreme weather events or other environmental hazards introduce to your property? Most of us are pretty much aware of the main climate risks in the location we live in. It is well known that California, for example, is at a high risk for earthquakes and fires. Still, some locations are less famous for their climate risks.
Heare at eampact you can find the prominent and relevant risks in the location of your property based on FEMA's NRI tool.
There are other tools out there: here you can find maps that specify which states in the U.S. are at high-risk for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, and earthquakes.
Another tool that can be helpful is an interactive map put together by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). By clicking on a specific state on the map, you can find relevant information for resilience in the face of high-risk disasters. in the chosen state.
Once you determine the risks in the location of your property, you can figure out the possible damages that can occur to buildings due to the following extreme weather events (find a more thorough overview of this topic in our blog post about the impacts of extreme weather events on buildings):
Are You Covered?
Once you are aware of the risks and damages that may affect your property, check whether or not your insurance provides coverage for those risks.
If you have home insurance already, the information on what your coverage includes can be found on the declaration page in your insurance policy. This section also specifies what parts in the house are covered and for what type of damage.
Usually, home insurance covers damages from:
But excludes coverage for damages from:
Read on for in-depth details.
The Insurance Information Institute (III) put together a video that clearly explains homeowners insurance.
Considering Additional Climate Insurance
In many cases, if your home insurance does not sufficiently cover the risks relevant to your location, you can purchase additional insurance for specific climate risks. We gathered information on several types of climate insurances:
Wind Insurance
Generally, homeowners insurance includes coverage from windstorm damage in inland areas in the U.S. The homeowners insurance coverage includes damages from:
However, in coastline states which have areas with a high-risk for wind, insurance companies require a percentage of the hurricane deductible instead of a flat dollar deductible. This means that the policyholder will pay a percentage of the home’s insured value before the coverage kicks in. Usually, the percentage varies between 1%-5% and sometimes even higher, depending on the level of risk in the property’s location.
According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), 19 states in the U.S have percentage deductibles and they provide information on the deductibles by state.
Some areas are at too-high risk for wind and storms, which means that insurance companies can refuse to offer insurance. In such cases, many states offer FAIR Plans, which are state-mandated programs for those who are struggling to find insurance. Beach plans are FAIR plans that are specific to windstorm coverage, but these plans may be more expensive.
Annual windstorm premium ranges widely between $600 to $2,000. The average differs by state and varies based on the location of the property, whether it is in a high-risk area, the age and condition of the property, and the crime rate in the area. Florida has the highest average annual premium of $2,000, and in some locations such as Miami, the premium can be higher than $4,000.
Luckily, Florida requires insurance companies to offer discounts on windstorm insurance for properties with wind-resistant features by qualifying for wind mitigation credits. Wind mitigation credits can reduce up to 40% of the premium, if specific features are added, such as:
Wildfire Insurance
As mentioned, most standard homeowner insurances cover damages from fires. The coverage includes the:
In the policy, you can find the standard limits of the coverage, and you can choose to increase the coverage limit if you feel it is not high enough.
Note that homeowners insurance typically doesn’t cover damages from fires that were started deliberately by the owner or fires that were a result of an act of war or a result of nuclear radiation. Another exclusion is a vacant house that has been vacant for more than 30 days. In such cases, there are specific policies for vacant houses.
As with windstorms, areas that are highly exposed to wildfires can sometimes struggle to get insurance. The unprecedented fires in California in recent years has resulted in the refusal of insurance companies to renew home insurance. If you are struggling to get fire insurance, California offers Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plans.
If your property is located in a high-risk area for wildfires, having insurance is a good idea. Another good idea would be to take necessary measures to protect your home from wildfires, such as:
Flood insurance
According to FEMA, floods are the most common natural disaster in the U.S., which may be the reason why most insurance companies exclude flood damages from their homeowners’ insurance coverage. However, flood insurance can be purchased separately.
In some cases, you will be required to purchase flood insurance. If your property is located in a high-risk flood area and your mortgage lender is federally regulated or insured, the lender is mandated to require flood insurance. The lender can also decide to require flood insurance even if they are not mandated to.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provides flood insurance to property owners, renters, and businesses to assist with a fast recovery when floodwaters recede. The NFIP insurance is mandatory in Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), which may lead to the misperception that areas outside of the SFHA are not at risk of flooding. It is important to note that some experts consider FEMA’s flood maps to be outdated, therefore not an accurate representation of the true flood risk in certain areas.
The NFIP’s insurance can be purchased from private insurance companies, but the federal government is still responsible for underwriting losses.
NFIP insurance provides two separate policies:
You can choose to purchase both policies or a single policy.
We looked at flood insurance from Allstate as an example:
Building property coverage provides coverage for the physical structure of your home or non-residential property, including electrical and plumbing systems, refrigerators, window blinds, and more. The maximum coverage in this policy is $250,000.
Personal property (contents) coverage provides coverage for the items inside your home, like clothing, furniture, and electrical appliances at their value during the time of loss. This policy’s coverage is limited to $100,000.
Both policies do not cover:
Factors such as the location of the property (whether it is in a high-risk zone or not) and the age of the property can impact the cost of flood insurance. Currently, the average cost is $700. You can also search for calculated premium averages by state.
Here is an example of an instant quote from GEICO for a residential home that is not located on the water. The premiums are set by the NFIP and therefore will be similar in other insurance companies. For homes with values higher than $250,000, you will need to contact the insurance company to get a quote.
As of October 1st, 2021, FEMA will update the NFIP pricing methodology for the first time in fifty years. The new methodology will incorporate more flood risk variables such as flood frequency and type, the distance of the property to a water source, and specific property characteristics such as elevation and cost to rebuild. New policies beginning October 1st will be subject to the new rating methodology and existing policyholders eligible for renewal will be able to take advantage of immediate decreases in their premiums.
Note that flood insurance has a 30 day waiting period after its purchase before the coverage takes effect, so don’t wait until the last minute to purchase.
One way to reduce the cost of your flood insurance is to enroll your community in the Community Rating System (CRS) which is an incentive program provided by the NFIP. The city of Livermore, for example, received a 20% discount on flood insurance by making their city more flood resilient.
Another way is to retrofit your house to make it more resilient to floods by:
Earthquake Insurance
Homeowner insurance (for property owners with a mortgage) doesn’t cover damage from earthquakes unless it is a fire caused by an earthquake. Yet, homeowners insurance is obligated to offer additional earthquake insurance for purchase.
The cost of earthquake insurance varies according to location, age, and size of the property, and can range between $300-$4,000 per year.
The cost of the insurance increases as your risk increases. Both will be higher if your property is older, built of brick or masonry, or has more than one story.
Earthquake insurance will usually cover:
Earthquake insurance will usually not cover:
Once again, by adding features to your home that can protect it and your family from extreme and minor earthquakes, you can reduce your home insurance by up to 20%.
Examples of features that can reduce the cost of earthquake insurance are:
Additional opportunities for discounts
Insurance for climate change can be a financial burden, especially at a time when extreme weather is increasing and insurance premiums increasing along with it. Homeowners insurance has increased by 59% in the past decade and is predicted to continue increasing in the coming years.
Here are some additional opportunities that can lower your climate insurance premium:
Climate Insurance is Changing
In recent years there is an ongoing trend in the insurance world to include sustainability and climate change in their risk assessment and policies.
In July 2018, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIC) released a paper on Climate Change Risks to the Insurance Sector, in which it concludes that it is imperative that all insurers consider their exposure to climate risks, regardless of size, specialty, domicile, or geographic reach, and that they seek to build resilience to such risks where appropriate.
Insurance Companies Have the Power to Make a Change
For homeowners and business owners, insurers can significantly influence risk-reducing behaviors.
Insurance companies can decide to direct capital to reduce emissions, adaptation, and resilience in the face of climate change. They have strong influencing power, and by making collaborative decisions with other insurance companies, they can make a positive change. They can influence the behavior of individuals, businesses, and governments.
Will Climate Insurance Last?
Yet, insurance companies can’t fix or finance damages from all disasters. In fact, insurance covers just one-fifth of all disaster-related losses. The federal government had to increase the disaster annual budget many times in the last 30 years. The burden on insurance companies is becoming unbearable.
As mentioned, Californians who struggle to get fire insurance can default on FAIR programs. FAIR programs are offered in about 30 other states, and their demand is increasing since insurance companies are retreating from high-risk locations.
Moreover, lenders are selling risky loans to other mortgage corporations. This transfer of risk from hand to hand is similar to the Subprime crisis and may end at a similar result.
So if the home insurance industry is in trouble due to climate change, who can we turn to? The answer is maybe no one, maybe it’s time to take matters into our own hands. We should make sure we are aware of the risks we are exposed to and are prepared for them. Now, our focus should be on improving our home’s resilience to natural disasters so we can be prepared when disaster strikes.
Conclusions
KEEP COOL. BUILD RESILIENCE. EAMPACT.
References
Climate Resilient Boulder
2022-04-28Sacramento Confronts Flood and Drought Risks
2021-09-07How does the environment impact our homes
2021-09-12Community Resilience
2021-09-12Keeping Our Heads Above Water
2022-08-04Climate Resilient Austin
2022-04-29Here Comes the Rain Again
2022-09-01Earth Is a Gift We Must Reciprocate
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