Economy

Why Insurance Companies Are Retreating from Flood-Risk Areas

Wêrom Fersekeringsbedriuwen har weromtrekke út Oerstreamingsgebieten

August 3, 2026 · Frisian News

Major insurance companies are pulling out of flood-prone areas, shifting the burden to government-backed pools and taxpayers as climate models show increasing risk.

English

Major insurance companies are abandoning flood-prone regions. State Farm stopped accepting new home policies in California. Insurers have either frozen growth or pulled out entirely from states where climate models predict sharply rising flood risk.

These companies blame their exit on rising costs. Climate projections show more frequent and severe flooding. Traditional pricing models, they argue, cannot sustain profitability on policies in high-risk zones. The problem: homeowners left without coverage turn to government-backed insurance pools. California's FAIR Plan, meant as the lender of last resort, now covers a growing share of properties statewide.

This looks rational from a boardroom. Shareholders demand consistent returns. If a coastal property cannot generate the margin insurance firms expect, they abandon it. But the incentive structure is broken. Private capital takes profits in good years and walks away in risky years. The bill lands on taxpayers and homeowners who have nowhere else to turn.

The climate data is real. Flooding has intensified in many regions. But insurers also rely on catastrophe models that have erred before. Models are tools, not prophecy. Some executives may be using worst-case scenarios as cover for a simpler business decision: protecting capital by avoiding risk entirely. The cost of that choice falls unevenly on people with fewer options.

Homeowners in at-risk zones face a trap. Private insurance either vanishes or becomes unaffordable. Government pools offer coverage but often at rates that underscore the genuine risk. The system has shifted responsibility from those who price and profit from risk to those who simply live there. That is not insurance. That is privatized gain and socialized loss.

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Read this story in Frysk

Frysk

Grutte fersekeringsbedriuwen trekke har werom út oerstreamingsgefoeliche regio's. State Farm stopte mei it oannimmen fan nije hûspolissen yn Kalifornje. Fersekerders hawwe groei stilset of har folslein weromtutsen út steaten wêr't klimaatmodellen sterk tanimmende oerstreamingsrisiko's foarspelle.

Dizze bedriuwen jouwe tanimmende kosten as reden foar harren fertrek. Klimaatprognoazes litte faker en heftiger oerstreamingen sjen. Tradisjonele priismodellen kinne, neffens harren, net rendabel bliuwe foar polissen yn heechrisikogebieten. It probleem: hûseigeners sûnder dekking gean oer nei oerheidsfersekeringspools. It FAIR Plan fan Kalifornje, bedoeld as lender of last resort, dekt no in tanimmend diel fan 'e wenningen yn de steat.

Dit sjocht der rasjoneel út fanút in bestjoerskeamer. Oandielhâlders easkje konsistinte rendementen. As in kustpân net de marzje generearje kin dy't fersekeringsbedriuwen ferwachtsje, ferlitten se it. Mar de stimulearringen klopje net. Partikulier kapitaal plukt foardiel yn goede jierren en rint fuort yn risikofolle jierren. De rekken komt by belestingbetellers en hûseigeners sûnder alternativen.

De klimaatdata is echt. Oerstreamingen binne yn in protte regio's heftiger wurden. Mar fersekerders fertrouwe ek op rampemodellen dy't earder mislearre binne. Modellen binne ark, gjin foarsizzingsmagy. Guon direkteuren kinne worst-case-senario's brûke as dekmantel foar in ienfâldiger bedriuwsbestlút: kapitaal beskermje troch risiko's folslein te mijen. De kosten fan dy kar falle ûngelikens op minsken mei minder kar.

Hûseigeners yn risikogebieten sitte yn de fal. Partikuliere fersekering ferdwynt of wurdt ûnbetelber. Oerheidspools biede dekking, mar faak tsjin tariven dy't it echte risiko wjerspygelje. It systeem hat de ferantwurdlikheid ferskood fan dyjingen dy't risiko's priisje en winst meitsje nei dyjingen dy't der gewoan wenje. Dit is gjin fersekering. Dit is winst dy't privaat holden wurdt en risiko's dy't op it publyk ôfwentele wurde.

Published August 3, 2026 · Frisian News