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For millions of Americans, home ownership is becoming harder to afford due in part to skyrocketing insurance premiums.
A report has found that one group in particular is driving this crisis: the very dirty energy companies most responsible for the pollution that's overheating the planet, fueling stronger storms, wildfires, and flooding.
What's happening?
A report from the Center for Climate Integrity detailed how oil and gas companies knowingly fueled the conditions that are now pushing insurance markets to the brink.
Average annual home insurance premiums rose 24% over the last three years. In disaster-prone states like Florida, Louisiana, and California, some homeowners are unable to secure home insurance coverage, even at exorbitant rates.
Insurance companies are either pulling out of high-risk regions entirely or charging staggering rates to offset losses from extreme weather.
The result is an insurance crisis that threatens to displace families, lower property values, and destabilize local economies.
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Why is Big Oil's behavior concerning?
The link between reliance on dirty fuels like oil and gas and extreme weather is well established by scientific consensus.
Burning oil, coal, and gas releases carbon pollution that traps heat in our atmosphere, ushering in hotter summers, drier droughts, stronger hurricanes, and more destructive wildfires.
These increasingly prevalent, worsening disasters cause billions in damages, which insurers then pass on to homeowners through skyrocketing premiums.
The Center for Climate Integrity argues that the crisis is deeply unjust. Average families of modest means are footing the bill, while energy giants that created the risk continue to rake in record profits.
"Despite knowing the harms of their products, the oil and gas industry engaged in a decades-long campaign to deliberately sow doubt about the role of fossil fuels in causing climate change," the report explained.
What's being done to hold these companies accountable?
Communities and policymakers are pushing back as the home insurance crisis deepens.
Cities and states have filed lawsuits against major oil companies, seeking compensation for the damage and pollution they have caused.
At a personal level, individuals work toward making their properties more resilient through upgrades like storm-proofing, fire-resistant landscaping, and energy-efficient retrofits.
Many of these upgrades qualify for state or federal incentives, and some offer thousands of dollars in savings.
More broadly, reducing our reliance on dirty energy sources is the surest way to slow the escalating cycle of extreme weather and unaffordable insurance.
Understanding critical climate issues and supporting policies that transition power grids to clean energy will reduce dependence on dirty fuels — protecting both the planet and people's wallets.
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