While we're at this rethink, let us also consider the wisdom of stretching infrastructure miles into the countryside without pricing it in to utility services.
Helene Should Trigger a National Rethink of Home Insurance
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Re: Helene Should Trigger a National Rethink of Home Insurance
#12> “Extending mandatory coverage to all property owners,” in line with the approach taken in New Zealand, “could become thinkable in a way that it never has been before.” I'm not sure that's the correct solution here. Giving people flood insurance when they build on the beach in Florida is just a bad idea. There is going to be a flood claim; it's not really insuring against a risk, you know the risk is going to happen…
> There is going to be a flood claim; I feel like I'm missing something. Wouldn't this be something to price into coverage? If it's a high risk, premiums up to 1/x of the home value. Don't like it? You can't afford to own the house.
In New Zealand after the Christchurch earthquake, the government condemned entire suburbs and made it illegal to build there.
They then initiated an inspection of every multi-storey building, and allocated an NBS rating. Some buildings were condemned, and other buildings must be strengthened. It's almost impossible to sell these affected buildings.
So in the US for a national insurance scheme to work, the government would need to actively remove high risk properties.
New Zealand also has no state governments, just one national government. So it's much easier for them to implement these sorts of policies.
Re: Helene Should Trigger a National Rethink of Home Insurance
#13> Hurricane Helene crashed into an insurance sector facing a series of potentially existential questions, and a policy landscape in which the United States has left key decisions about how communities prepare for and recover from disasters in the hands of companies that exist to turn a profit—not provide protection. “Right now, we’re essentially leaving all of these decisions about land use and where risk mitigation happens up to insurance companies,” says Moira Birss, a longtime organizer and fellow at the Climate & Community Institute.
Insurance companies are probably the entity best incentivized and infotmed to make decisions about where to build houses and what risk mitigation to do.
Re: Helene Should Trigger a National Rethink of Home Insurance
#14No, it should trigger a national rethink on where we allow people to keep rebuilding over and over - or at least provide public services and funding - local, state, or federal for those areas.
The problem is that this is the first time these mountain communities have ever seen this sort of event. Coastal areas, sure we need to retreat from the coast, but these mountain communities have never gotten a year of rain in a few hours before.
Re: Helene Should Trigger a National Rethink of Home Insurance
#15No, it should trigger a national rethink on where we allow people to keep rebuilding over and over - or at least provide public services and funding - local, state, or federal for those areas.
The problem is that this is the first time these mountain communities have ever seen this sort of event. Coastal areas, sure we need to retreat from the coast, but these mountain communities have never gotten a year of rain in a few hours before.
The mountains of North Carolina had devastating floods caused by tropical storms in 1916.
Re: Helene Should Trigger a National Rethink of Home Insurance
#16No, it should trigger a national rethink on where we allow people to keep rebuilding over and over - or at least provide public services and funding - local, state, or federal for those areas.
I live 2 hours away from the mountains of North Carolina. I grew up in the foothills. You have no idea what you are talking about. People aren’t rebuilding here, “over and over.” This was a climate disaster full stop. If we as a species don’t get our shit together and stop poisoning our planet this will keep happening.
Re: Helene Should Trigger a National Rethink of Home Insurance
#17Yes, and that rethink should be that insurance of all forms is a racket.
Re: Helene Should Trigger a National Rethink of Home Insurance
#18> “Extending mandatory coverage to all property owners,” in line with the approach taken in New Zealand, “could become thinkable in a way that it never has been before.” I'm not sure that's the correct solution here. Giving people flood insurance when they build on the beach in Florida is just a bad idea. There is going to be a flood claim; it's not really insuring against a risk, you know the risk is going to happen…
They've been trying to update flood maps for decades.
The problem is: as soon as those maps become public, thousands of homeowners are suddenly underwater in their mortgages and cannot sell or do anything but wait to lose everything.
There's far more socialism that needs work than just telling people their American dream is actually worthless and they should be homeless.
This isn't new, regulations require actual care for society. Capitalism isn't going to cut it.
Re: Helene Should Trigger a National Rethink of Home Insurance
#19> “Extending mandatory coverage to all property owners,” in line with the approach taken in New Zealand, “could become thinkable in a way that it never has been before.” I'm not sure that's the correct solution here. Giving people flood insurance when they build on the beach in Florida is just a bad idea. There is going to be a flood claim; it's not really insuring against a risk, you know the risk is going to happen…
> There is going to be a flood claim; I feel like I'm missing something. Wouldn't this be something to price into coverage? If it's a high risk, premiums up to 1/x of the home value. Don't like it? You can't afford to own the house.
At this point, the insurance is basically the cost of replacing your house, guaranteed in 10 years.
These people barely can afford paying a 30 year mortgage.
There's absolutely no logic behind insurance in Florida or anywhere along the coast.
Even if 10 years is hyperbole, the real risks are absolutely not insurable.
Re: Helene Should Trigger a National Rethink of Home Insurance
#20> Hurricane Helene crashed into an insurance sector facing a series of potentially existential questions, and a policy landscape in which the United States has left key decisions about how communities prepare for and recover from disasters in the hands of companies that exist to turn a profit—not provide protection. “Right now, we’re essentially leaving all of these decisions about land use and where risk mitigation…
Except they tend to use only publicly funded maps or pull out all together.
They're best informed not to take the risks.
And when government has tried to update flood maps, the citizens stop them because those maps level house prices to basically kill the value of homes and there's no socialist plan to ensure they move out. Instead nothing changes and insurance just either pulls out or waits for the end then stops covering.
It's mostly capitalism in action: bad choices to spend money into bad choices, because that raises the GDP via "rebuilding"