The Political Climate: an ongoing commentary on the NH Primary and Climate Change

Global warming is insinuating itself into people’s lives. The extreme example is the island  nation of Tuvalu, whose citizens see their country’s very existence threatened by global warming-induced rising sea levels. More subtly, people in some regions of the United States are beginning to see their insurance options narrowed as insurers become increasingly aware of the impact that rising sea levels and stronger storms will have on their bottom lines. In Maryland, for instance, insurance companies are beginning to deny coverage in coastal areas most likely to experience hurricane damage. This reflects lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina (though Allstate still pulled in nearly $2 billion in profit in 2005, despite those payouts). Cherry-picking customers is good for the insurance industry but bad for Americans, and if you think that it doesn’t effect us up here where hurricanes rarely stray, think about who picks up the bill when the government has to fund reconstruction efforts traditionally financed by insurance payouts.