Dozens of environmental and consumer groups have rallied in support of the Biden administration’s plans to collect information from property and casualty insurers to determine whether they are abandoning communities vulnerable to climate change. .
The group has submitted comments praising the Treasury Department’s unprecedented plan to require 213 major insurers to provide detailed information on homeowners’ policies and claims.
The Treasury Department’s Federal Insurance Administration is analyzing data to determine whether rising losses from climate change and weather events are making property insurance scarce or affordable in vulnerable U.S. communities. increase (climate wire19 October 2022).
Supporters of the plan include the Environmental Defense Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and citizens with a letter signed by 75 organizations, including Consumer Watchdog, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and the Sierra Club. .
“We agree with FIO’s assessment that we need consistent, comparable, and detailed data to assess how climate change is hurting insurance consumers,” said Public Citizen. writes, referring to the insurance office by its abbreviation.
Public Citizen and other supporters have called on the Treasury Department to expand its planned data collection to include more types of insurance, such as renter protection and flood insurance. They also want the department to collect information about policies that are canceled before they expire.
The group’s support comes as the Treasury Department faces opposition from the insurance industry, state insurance regulators and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. All of these state that data collection is burdensome and potentially misleading (climate wireDecember 9, 2022).
Opponents include influential groups such as the National Association of Insurance Supervisors, the American Property and Casualty Insurers Association, the National Association of Mutual Insurers, the Insurance Information Institute, and the National Association of Insurance Agents.
“The burden of compliance cannot be overstated,” the American General Insurance Association wrote in a recent comment to the Federal Insurance Administration.
This year, the department will begin collecting information from selected insurance companies on coverage, claims, premiums and losses for homeowners in each zip code who create policies. This information is intended to show where premiums are high or unavailable, and the demographics and vulnerabilities of those areas.
Although the agency does not regulate insurance companies, “this is done by state agencies,” planned analysis finds the property insurance market collapsing as climate change exacerbates weather-related damage. states and communities at risk of
The analysis, in response to President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Climate Risk, sees property insurers in three states—California, Florida, and Louisiana—account for devastating losses due to some of their claims due to extreme weather events. It was done in the face of loss and bankruptcy. The Department of Health solicited public comment when he announced the plan in October.
The Environmental Defense Fund said the analysis would be “an important step toward better understanding climate-related risks to the availability and affordability of insurance for U.S. households, and to the stability of the insurance industry and financial system.” said.
United Policyholders, a California-based consumer advocacy group, said insurance firms are working to reduce insurance coverage and increase deductibles to help businesses keep households vulnerable to climate disasters. He said it is “essential” to analyze how
An analysis of changes in housing policy “assess how insurers’ adaptations to climate change in the form of reduced coverage are impacting people’s ability to restore damaged property.” It’s very helpful for us,” said the United Policyholder.
The Federal Insurance Administration plans to collect information from all major national insurers and smaller insurers in the 10 states most vulnerable to climate disasters. These states are California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
Reprinted from E&E News with permission of POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2023. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environmental professionals.
