If you thought the mop-up costs of Hurrican Katrina were bad -- well most Insurance Companies are on the same page, too.
Can the Insurance Industry Survive Climate Change?
by Francesca Rheannon, Reuters -- Jun 13, 2011
The weather just seems to be getting crazier and crazier. First, the Mississippi River caused record flooding in several communities.
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Killer tornadoes in the Midwest of the U.S. caused major loss of life (the toll is currently 141 deaths) and record damage. But when I heard the news that my home territory of western Massachusetts got clobbered by tornadoes severe enough to cause fatalities, I was really shocked -- tornadoes in New England?
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Meanwhile, forest fires are raging in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Over 3 million acres have burned in the tinder-box the southwestern U.S. has become, due to a monster drought-with no end in sight.
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As catastrophic weather events continue to become more common and more severe due to climate change, the insurance industry will be sorely tested. 2010 insured losses were estimated at between $18 billion and $37 billion -- and indicated "a probable link" to climate change, according to insurance giant, Munich Re. In fact, the industry has named climate change its biggest challenge.
But how will the industry respond? The most immediate response we are already seeing are soaring premiums to homeowners and businesses. One 2009 study predicted a doubling of insurance rates due to climate change - and that was before severe weather events doubled in 2010 from 2009 totals.
But how will the industry respond? I think, maybe they're gonna need a bigger Gecko ...
Or perhaps they'll need some cuter Ad campaigns ...
Look out for Hurricane: "Can't-Afford-it."
Look out for Hurricane: "Broke-the-Bank."
Look out for Hurricane: "You're-on-your-Own."
{fine print: all claims for clever-named foreseeable storms, subject to a 48 hour window.}
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Insurance companies are full of smart people. Smart Numbers People. With Powerful Computers.
THEY can read the writing on the Wall, down on their Street.
The Cost of Climate Change
What We'll Pay if Global Warming Continues Unchecked
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
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Four global warming impacts alone -- hurricane damage, real estate losses, energy costs, and water costs -- will come with a price tag of 1.8 percent of U.S. GDP, or almost $1.9 trillion annually (in today's dollars) by 2100.
$2 Trillion a year, just to pick up after Hurricanes Super-canes, to re-process waste water, and piece together ever-scarcer Fossil Energy -- Uh-oh!
Insurance companies are full of smart people. Smart Numbers People. With Powerful Computers.
THEY can read the writing on the Wall, and they're already "doubling your insurance rates." They're probably working overtime, to figure out how to double those Policy "exclusion clauses" too.
The first Insurance Company that can come up with the Policy which "refuses to cover the Acts of God Man"
-- "and since Climate Change-induced Disasters are result of Human Indifference" -- as everyone knows --
Well those clever Insurance Companies are going to make a Trillion Dollar-killing.
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THEY can read the writing on that Consumer-Victim Wall ...
Talk about Opportunities ... Lost.
