In Budget Committee Hearing, Senators do a deep dive into the climate crisis’ impact on the insurance industry, finding disturbing systemic impacts that will undermine the system.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Budget Committee on the Budget held a hearing this morning detailing the impacts climate change is having in states across the country. The hearing, which included a witness impacted by the crisis in Florida’s insurance markets, examined potential for disasters driven by climate change to upend the availability and affordability of insurance. David Arkush, director of Public Citizen’s Climate Program, issued the following statement:
“The deeply disturbing impacts of climate change on insurance should concern elected officials across the country. From Florida to California, insurance providers are raising rates, limiting coverage, and, in some places, leaving states and their clients to fend for themselves. Communities of color are disproportionately burdened by these harms.
“Higher premiums and insurance withdrawals are a symptom of a growing problem that could ultimately sink the U.S. and global economy. The lessons of past financial crises make clear that trying to bury and obfuscate clear threats to our insurance and financial systems will ultimately result in massive harm to communities and force the federal government to take costly action. Congress must begin to take seriously the severe threat climate change poses to our insurance markets, housing markets, and broader financial markets.”
Originally posted on Public Citizen.
