Weekly Roundup: States Consider Action Against Oil Companies, As Home Insurance Continues to Increase Across the Country
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 2025
Contact: contact@insurancefairnessproject.com
Weekly Roundup: States Consider Action Against Oil Companies, As Home Insurance Continues to Increase Across the Country
Each week, the Insurance Fairness Project highlights the latest developments in the national climate-driven property insurance crisis. For more insurance updates, follow us on LinkedIn, X/Twitter, and Bluesky.
1/ STATE LEGISLATION TO “MAKE POLLUTERS PAY” OVER INSURANCE HIKES: HI, NY, and CA are proposing legislation to hold major oil and gas companies financially responsible for climate change-related economic damage.
E&E News: States consider suing fossil fuel industry over insurance hikes
“Shouldn’t the entities that caused climate change contribute?” said Hawaii state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, a Democrat, who plans to introduce legislation in January as the state’s annual legislative session begins. “Why do residents have to foot the whole bill for the situation we’re now in when they did not profit off it the way the polluters did?”
Center for Climate Integrity: New York bill would make Big Oil pay for the home insurance crisis
2/ THE PRIVATIZATION OF FLOOD INSURANCE: Neptune Flood is looking to convince the Trump administration to shrink the federal government’s role in flood insurance, as Project 2025 authors continue to call for the elimination of the National Flood Insurance Program.
New York Times: How One Company Is Pushing a Private Takeover of Flood Insurance
Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, said he “fundamentally” disagreed with Neptune’s claim that private insurers would be so eager to sell more flood policies. “When someone has a private policy and gets one claim, the private insurer dumps them,” he said.
3/ DEBUNKING TORT REFORM AS THE SOLUTION TO THE INSURANCE CRISIS: As FL Governor Ron DeSantis and others are touting tort reform as a solution to the climate-driven property insurance crisis, consumer advocates are sounding the alarm.
Public Citizen: The “Tort Reform” Racket
The idea that judges and juries nationwide are being routinely duped by plaintiffs’ attorneys who somehow outmatch the trillion-dollar insurance industry and its legal teams strains credulity. A far more plausible explanation is the simplest: insurers frequently deny, delay, or underpay valid claims, and reasonable people turn to the courts. This isn’t legal system abuse, it’s a policyholder’s last line of defense against a racket.
Public Citizen: DeSantis’ Attempts to Lower Insurance Prices Yield Small Savings but Undermine Key Safeguards for Homeowners
“These so-called reforms have taken an important safeguard for people’s homes and turned it into little more than a mob-style protection racket, good for little else than lining the pockets of insurance executives and shareholders.”
Unlocking America’s Future: DeSantis’s Latest Insurance Claims Ring Hollow as Citizens Denies 90% of Disputed Claims
Citizens routes disputed claims to a special state-run alternative dispute court, the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH), where it wins more than 90% of cases, denying policyholders their right to a jury trial. In stark contrast, Citizens wins only 55% of cases in regular circuit courts where homeowners have access to juries.
Previously, the Insurance Fairness Project released a report that reveals Florida’s insurance market remains precariously balanced on undercapitalized companies, opaque ratings, and a regulatory system that prioritizes market optics over homeowner protection. Read our report here.
4/ INSURANCE FIGHTS HAVE DELAYED REBUILDING AFTER CA FIRES: One year after the devastating L.A. wildfires, countless insurance claims remain unresolved. Insurers are forcing survivors through exhausting processes to access the compensation they are due.
NPR: California fire victims say fighting with insurance companies has delayed rebuilding
"With total loss, it's a very clear-cut, 'OK, we either rebuild or we sell. And if we rebuild, it's this. And if we sell, it's that.' And we do not have any paths to take," says Krista Copelan, whose Altadena home suffered smoke damage and lead contamination in the fires. "It's 100% trying to figure it out, fighting every step of the way, having no clear-cut answers."
Los Angeles Times: For fire victims, it’s a new year but the same old nightmare
“The fire was a shock,” one survivor said in a quote displayed at the exhibit. “But dealing with the insurance company is a hundred times more devastating and stressful and crushing because you feel so powerless.”
5/ RATE HIKE ROUNDUP: This week, rate hikes in California, Hawaii, and Colorado are garnering media attention.
KCRA: Two of California's major home insurers set to raise rates this year
Hawaii News Now: Hawaii home insurance rates spike after Maui wildfires
Rocky Mountain PBS: Undercovered: Colorado's home insurance dilemma
Resources
Insurance Fairness Project: Polling – Voters Want Their Government to Address the Property Insurance Crisis
Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project: Mapping the Home Insurance Crisis
Consumer Federation of America: Overburdened: The Dramatic Increase in Homeowners Insurance Premiums and its Impacts on American Homeowners
Brookings Institution: Homeowners insurance in an era of climate change
Consumer Federation of America and Climate and Community Institute: Penalized: The Hidden Cost of Credit Score in Homeowners Insurance Premiums
Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen: Rising Property Insurance Premiums: The Uneven Risks to Household and Systemic Financial Stability
Climate and Community Institute (CCI): Insurers of Last Resort: Why Today’s FAIR Plans Need a Redesign to Address the Home Insurance Crisis
Center for Climate Integrity: How Big Oil is Fueling the Insurance Crisis And Why State Policymakers Should Act
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The Insurance Fairness Project is an information hub dedicated to offering insights into the home insurance crisis, exploring its drivers and highlighting solutions alongside issue experts and community advocates.
