The Insurance Industry Can't Weather Another Wildfire Season Like This UNLESS...

America: Let's make sure that profits are always privatized, and losses are always, always, always, ALWAYS socialized.

A lot of this has to do with irresponsible development. I live outside of Houston. In the past two years, some large subdivisions have popped up on land that used to be rice fields--you know, the ones you have to pump out before you can harvest them. Every few years we get a 20 inch rain. No one has to guess what is going to happen in those neighborhoods the next time we get a good rain.

Insurance: we’re here in case something happens! something happens Insurance: we don’t actually have to be here

I found a picture from 1915 of the home I was born in. Prairie fires were the hazard and fire departments were nonexistent. The solution was that all walls, doors and the roof had to be metal. Anything flammable had to be at least 20 feet away from the house according to my grandpa.

One of the big failings of modern society is wanting to all have the same architecture, everywhere. It's something that started in Europe and has spread to many places. Homes should be built to the conditions they will face. For example: If you live in a hurricane zone where strong winds and flooding are an issue. why not build round buildings on pillars? Maybe make them out of concrete too. If you're in an area that's prone to extreme rain you'll need to raise your house up, and have a very steep roof to help shed water quickly. Architects should draw inspiration for these kinds of houses from builds made in countries that have had problems like this for centuries. People used to think the Indigenous peoples of the plains were uncivilized because they were nomadic. However, when your local weather brings deeply cold winters or things like tornadoes, being mobile is an advantage. If you're threatened by the weather, you just move somewhere else for a while. Just because permanent settlements worked in Europe, doesn't mean they work everywhere. Climate change is going to make adaptability in many things a very important tool for humans.

My wife and I moved to Oregon several years ago only to watch wildfires increase, destroying forests and communities. We've decided that we have no plans to purchase another home when we live in a world that's in the process of falling apart. We'd rather not be tied to a ludicrously overpriced house when odds are it will be destroyed (and/or suffer catastrophic value loss) within the next decade, leaving us with a financial boat anchor tied around our necks. This isn't just about Oregon. Home prices are insane everywhere worth living and there is no safe place to hide from climate change. Instead, we bought a well-built, off-grid travel trailer so we can move around as needed and bail out of our rental home quickly if a disaster strikes here.

This happened at a small scale around New Orleans after Katrina. A lot of people's insurance rates either exploded or the insurance companies wouldn't cover their houses anymore. There were a lot of people that were interested in moving but couldn't because after the storm they were underwater both figuratively and literally.

I expected this to also cover the regions that will get too hot, lack sufficient water, and/or face flooding/sea rise. Also lacking was any mention of suburban sprawl's disproportionate fire risk.

Maybe we must stop building low quality, bad kind of houses in this country.

I live in the Central Cascades outside of Seattle. I live in a forested rural area. I have a metal roof and my insurance company actually charged me more for having it, rather than giving me a reduction because of fire-prevention. The County is changing their policy to allow homeowners to clear their land for 100' surrounding structures, of brush and trees, without permits for fire prevention. This will remove shade and weather protection for our homes, leading to higher energy consumption. The 100 feet will do nothing if we have a catastrophic fire- the fire jumped the Columbia River when it was a mile wide, in the 2019 Oregon fires.

A partial solution would be infill development (specifically “missing middle”, transit oriented housing) in parking lots in less climate-threatened areas.

I am hoping North Carolina residents wake up to this reality and finally untangle the beach houses from the inland houses. At NC, inland houses subsidize coastal houses by paying higher hurricane insurance that is needed. It is unfair and in a way makes the middle class subsidize the summer homes of the rich. If NC did that, it would not be a risky state. We have computers all over the economy for at least two decades now. It should be easy to subdivide NC into zones and assign insurance accordingly. I also think it is an abuse to FEMA that so many people keep moving into Phoenix Arizona. We all know they will start having extreme heat emergencies and FEMA will be there to help them. But we will all pay for that decision. They could just do their research and realize they are moving into a literal hell on earth. A low cost of living should not be the only factor to consider when moving.

Our house insurance in North San Diego County went up from $1,000 a year to $2,200. We put in ember safe vents, and pruned many plants. We had already taken out 25 foot high junipers (go up like a torch) away from the house. We had already removed the mulch next to the house and replaced it with gravel. Another insurance company gave it to us for about $1,000 less. But we are going to do more. We are going to replace our wood gates that touch the house with aluminum gates. Heck, if they drop our insurance, I'm going to look into sprinklers for the top of the house.

The entire concept of for profit insurance is unnecessary and inherently exploitative. It's really quite simple. Nationalize insurance, apply different rates to different risk by AREA not by state, and cut profit out of the equation. There is no need to have wealthy oligarchs skimming off the top and crying for subsidies when their free lunch machine becomes slightly less profitable. They contribute nothing to this situation and still want their supposedly deserved cut at the expense of hard working people.

Even if it doesn't pop the housing bubble, I think it will play a significant role in future volatility. Look no further than Florida. Even now, insurers are fleeing the state in droves.

Great video. I've been working on efficiency improvements for my old house- insulation, air sealing, fixing out dated designs, etc.. Have also been working on outdoor aspects like drainage and properly trimming nearby trees and bushes to protect it. There's a lot of stuff to deal with and hard to see impacts from various approaches that homeowners have to deal with to protect your property, and if you can't do it yourself, it gets expensive.

nothing has made me think more about location than all the natural disasters. it's scary trying to figure out where to settle down and call home. The future is looking a bit scary

The government needs to enact programs to reintroduce wild beaver populations to all of the American West. Beavers create a "land sponge" and greatly reduce the risk and effect of wildfires. There used to be literally hundreds of millions of beavers across this continent and if we return them to their rightful place, we can greatly reduce the risk of wildfires.

This is one of the main reasons why I don't understand why people are flocking to areas like Texas that are at risk due to climate change. You buy a house there now, what happens in 25 years? Will you be able to sell it? Will the market have totally disappeared? How many major repairs will you have had to have made due to climate change? And will you have been able to find affordable insurance over that period of time? It just seems like a stupid investment at this point. But as you said, renting costs will also go up due to insurance and loss of homes on the market. Moving to those places just seems incredibly short-sighted.

Insurance companies are allowed to collect premiums for 20 years when nothing happens and then leave when convenient. Thats the problem.