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Is the world becoming uninsurable?

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Re: Is the world becoming uninsurable?

#861

Post by jandrewrogers »

bitmasher9 wrote: post #830

I often hear people bring up the point that wood buildings are a risk for wildfires and brick/concrete would be safer. When I did some research on this topic years ago I concluded that brick/concrete is much less stable in an Earthquake, which is also a concern for LA. Is it possible to build earthquake resistant concrete structures?

Yes, you can build reinforced concrete structures rated to not collapse during a M8-9 earthquake. However, the quantity of steel and reinforcement required for the concrete structure to have sufficient strength makes it expensive and labor intensive to build.

The US has been pioneering other construction techniques using welded steel plates instead of reinforced concrete. They have excellent seismic resistance and are much cheaper to build because you don't need to place rebar.

Re: Is the world becoming uninsurable?

#862

Post by tormeh »

frankvdwaal wrote: post #368
nobodywillobsrv wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The government banned insurance companies from raising prices. They used tax payer money to subsidize this for a while which increase home prices. Eventually insurance companies stopped offering insurance. When state actors even dabble in socialism disasters happen people die.

Ah yes. Socialism is when intervention and subsidies.

Pretty much, yeah: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism

Re: Is the world becoming uninsurable?

#863

Post by SideQuark »

osigurdson wrote: post #442
SideQuark wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is if they cannot afford them. Most people would love far more than they can afford, but reality wins.

The problem with "people should aim lower" type arguments is eventually everyone is living in a tent.

The problem with slippery slope fallacies is, well, they are a fallacy.

I also see you coupled it with the strawman fallacy, since I didn't claim anything as wide ranging as "people should aim lower."

Pretty impressive to pack so much poor reasoning into one sentence.

Spending within what one can afford is a long running method of resource allocation which has served mankind for millennia, and mankind is now living at a higher standard of living than any point in history.

Re: Is the world becoming uninsurable?

#864

Post by e44858 »

stkdump wrote: post #723
bluedevil2k wrote: post #8

Like we see in California, when the government sets a price ceiling, insurance companies just leave. Same in Florida. If the free market truly was allowed run normally, the insurance rates in Pacific Palisades or on the Florida coast would be so high that no one could afford to live there. Is that a bad thing? If someone was living in a house near where they tested missiles, we'd call them crazy. At what point can we…

This logic makes absolutely zero sense. If a house is uninsurable, people will choose to live there without insurance. But if the house is insurable for a high cost people will not? They can still choose to not buy the expensive insurable and be in the same boat as inunsurable home owners.

Will banks give out loans for houses without insurance?

Re: Is the world becoming uninsurable?

#866

Post by topspin »

nejsjsjsbsb wrote: post #324
tobyhinloopen wrote: post #283

American, living in area prone to natural disasters: "Is the WHOLE WORLD becoming uninsurable?" The answer is obviously "no" since there are other parts of the world that don't live on a hurricane highway nor build houses made from firewood in an area prone to wildfires.

Climate change enters the chat...

How did climate change cause vast neighborhoods of single-family wooden mcmansions to be constructed with ~3 meters of separation?

Re: Is the world becoming uninsurable?

#867

Post by dlcarrier »

infecto wrote: post #467
tobyhinloopen wrote: post #283

American, living in area prone to natural disasters: "Is the WHOLE WORLD becoming uninsurable?" The answer is obviously "no" since there are other parts of the world that don't live on a hurricane highway nor build houses made from firewood in an area prone to wildfires.

Honest question. Why when people describe wood framed homes do they always phrase it like houses made from "firewood", "sticks", "twigs" etc? It at least for me always detracts from the argument at hand. You could just as easily build a wood framed home with an exterior shell that is fire resistant using modern materials or brick.

Dimensional lumber is often called sticks, in the building industry, probably because it's quicker. For example, if a roof is built from individual pieces of dimensional lumber, instead of pre-built trusses, the building method isn't called dimensional-lumber-built but stick-built.

Re: Is the world becoming uninsurable?

#868

Post by dlcarrier »

KerrAvon wrote: post #800
hintymad wrote: post #792

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do we know why the insurance companies can't simply raise the insurance price to match the risks in those areas that are prone to natural disasters? I mean in general, not as in California where the government imposes strange policies. Speaking of the policy, why wouldn't California allow the insurance company raise the premium by region? Doesn't such policy benefit the rich at the cost of the poor as the rich love t…

It's more complicated than that, as always. Here's some (incomplete) background on Florida: https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/03/how-floridas-home-insuranc... Re: California, I don't understand the context for your question, or why you would think the California government is more strange than any other US state government. There's no universally-accepted "ideology of California." It's a big state with a huge, diverse p…

California's insurance policies are more strange, due to proposition 103, passed in 1988.

It creates a condition where the state can prohibit insurers from selling to residents, if it doesn't like their prices, which has recently lead to a lot of insurers no longer selling in the state, as construction prices in the state have risen significantly faster than inflation, leading to insurance premiums that the state doesn't like.

Residents who no longer have any insurers available can buy insurance from the state, but its far more expensive than the plans it rejected from private insurers.

Re: Is the world becoming uninsurable?

#869

Post by HumblyTossed »

tobyhinloopen wrote: post #283

American, living in area prone to natural disasters: "Is the WHOLE WORLD becoming uninsurable?" The answer is obviously "no" since there are other parts of the world that don't live on a hurricane highway nor build houses made from firewood in an area prone to wildfires.

As for the hurricanes, stop allowing builders to build SFH in areas that are at or below sea level. They're going to flood. Period. That's not sustainable from an insurance perspective.
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