Wildfires — Western Governors Urged to be Careful with Insurance

The Western Governors Association held its annual meeting in Las Vegas early last week. Wildfires were top of mind with all attending. Most blamed the surge of wildfires in the West on climate change.

Whether it’s climate change or not, Karen Collins, the vice president of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), urged the governors and the legislatures of the Western states to be careful with what they do to help consumers.

Collins said insurers are facing inflation, a huge increase in the number of natural disasters and are “facing the hardest market cycle in a generation.” She said disasters like the wildfire that tore through Hawaii’s island, Maui have put insurers short of capital.

“The key for policymakers is to be mindful of … proposals that may introduce new or higher exposure costs, including regulatory compliance burdens, that could potentially exacerbate these recent market conditions,” Collins said. “Instead, companies really do need tools to manage rapidly evolving risk and cost while also working to reduce risk.”

Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen (D) is concerned about the loss of insurance coverage on home ownership. She said mortgage lenders require insurance and if a consumer can’t afford, or find, insurance, they are likely to lose their homes.

U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said in a July letter to the Federal Insurance Office that she was concerned about shrinking insurance coverage in Northern Nevada.

“Without access to affordable insurance products — or insurance products altogether — the most at-risk homeowners are left with sky-high insurance premiums, insufficient coverage, or no protection at all,” she said. “It is critical that Nevada homeowners have access to the affordable insurance coverage they need.”

Source link: The Las Vegas Sun — https://bit.ly/4gc92F9