Why Climate Change Is Driving An Insurance Meltdown
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It's Wednesday, June 11th. I'm Jane Koston, and this is What A Day, the show that learned that the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, has called for the overturning of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage. In response, I am calling for every American to send me protein bars, ideally mint chocolate flavored. If we're just calling for things, I want to get my ass in early.

On today's show, thousands of military troops continue to occupy the streets of Los Angeles as people protest immigration rates. And President Donald Trump warns against protesting his big birthday parade. Oh, I mean the 250th anniversary of the Army's celebration. But let's start with California. And yes, we know, this week has been very West Coast focused on Whataday. We're basically a Tupac album right now. But stay with me, because what happens in California often doesn't stay here.

Case in point, home insurance. When natural disasters happen, home insurance is how folks are able to rebuild. But when natural disasters happen over and over again, like with wildfires in California, home insurance companies get overwhelmed. And in California and other states, some might even stop offering policies altogether. Here's CNBC.

Since 2022, seven of the top 12 insurers in the state have stopped renewing and writing policies in high-risk zip codes. Other insurers have pulled out of the state entirely. And it's not just Californians who are facing severe climate risks. 44% of all U.S. homes are in areas that face at least one severe or extreme climate risk.

I am, to be clear, not America's biggest home insurance company, Stan. But I do know just how important it is to be able to get home insurance. And that goes not just for Californians being denied for living in high-risk areas, but also for folks in North Carolina dealing with hurricanes and floods, or people in Iowa and Oklahoma recovering from tornadoes, all of which are likely to get more common and more powerful as a result of climate change.

So to talk about how climate change is going to make your life more expensive, I spoke to Crooked Climate correspondent, Anya Zolojewski. Anya, welcome back to What A Day. Great to be here. So I'm excited to talk to you about some ways climate change is going to hit our wallets so hard. But before I do that, I want to do a gut check on the trend. Over the past two years, the Northern Hemisphere has had its two hottest summers since we started tracking them in the 1940s. Are we on track to break another record?

That's a great question. You know, it's too early to tell, but 2025 is definitely rivaling the others. So, you know, we'll see. But wildfires are already spreading across Canada and it's not looking good. So let's get to the money, in particular, home insurance rates. I mean, I haven't lived in Los Angeles for very long and I experienced those huge fires earlier this year. And you actually talked to someone who made it through the fires in Altadena, but lost pretty much everything.

Yeah, so that was Callum Hanlon. He's a 37-year-old, and he had to flee with his wife, two dogs, and their two kids from Altadena. When I went outside to go get gas, the sky was just like ablaze, and I could see the—to be honest, I don't know if I could see the flames yet or just the orange glow at that point from Eaton. And I just ran back inside and told her, I think we have to leave now. And what happened to them?

So the next morning, they actually decided to leave L.A. and go to San Diego, where they have relatives. On the way down, we stopped for breakfast and got a call from our neighbor that every house on our street had burned down.

This is a traumatic event, as you know, because you were there. And there's so much that they now have to figure out. One thing that he's definitely scared of is how his insurance rates are going to increase. Time will tell whether it'll actually cover the scale of the damage, but it is a worry that they have. He told me he's quite terrified.

Let's be real here. We do see fires and floods all the time, all across the country. What is the connection between climate change and rising insurance rates? Just because we're seeing these floods and fires as this new normal, it doesn't mean that it's normal.

You know, our systems as they exist right now aren't actually equipped to handle them. And so as we see hotter temperatures and worsening natural disasters, we're going to see higher insurance rates because insurance companies are the ones who are

helping us out or bailing us out, you know, when these homes are destroyed in these natural disasters. But as these costs go up, these companies can't actually afford to cover the scale of damage. You know, I took a look and the L.A. wildfires caused $54 billion worth in damage. You know, more than 11,000 homes were burned down. And so this is, you know, unprecedented damage.

territory. California's biggest insurer, State Farm, said it's a dire situation. They sought for approval to be able to raise rates by as much as 30% for homeowners. And that's if you can get insurance. A lot of people now are actually getting non-renewal notifications because insurance companies are flat out saying, if you're in a high risk zone, we're not going to renew your policy. And it

And even today, there was a headline in Axios that shows that families of

of color end up being the most affected by this. So Blacks, Latinos, families who just absolutely are in these more high risk homes who are going to get these non-renewals. And the problem isn't just in LA. There was a report that found that insurance premiums have risen by 8.7% above inflation between 2018 and 2022. And that's largely due to climate change related disasters.

You got to talk to Steve Collar, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard who studies home insurance and climate. Can you tell me a little bit about what he said?

Yeah, so he has seen this link. You know, again, it's still early days. This is unprecedented. So we can't go straight into causation. However, he is saying that they're noticing this trend. Climate crisis, natural disasters are leading to higher insurance premiums. Of course, it makes sense that we're seeing global temperatures rise, more extreme wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes.

intensities being at unprecedented levels and people are starting to feel it in their pocketbooks. But the government, especially state governments, regulate insurance though, right? Like it's in everyone's interest to have it be possible to protect the places where people live. What can be done to shore up the industry?

Basically, there's this thing known as reinsurance. And so that's insurance for insurance companies. And those rates are also going up around the world. And so one idea is that the federal government could actually take over reinsurance, offer it to insurance companies at a heavily discounted rate with the insurance companies.

the stipulation that insurance companies have to help their customers, you know, fire harden their homes or weatherproof their homes, basically make them more resistant to these natural disasters. So Jessica Morse is the expert I spoke with, and she's the former deputy secretary at the California Natural Resources Agency for Forest and Wildland Resilience.

I don't think we're going to actually achieve home hardening at the scale and neighborhood community hardening that we need to until we get insurance companies to be a driver of it.

Now, it's funny because we often hear that the right agrees that climate change is real sometimes, but they just think that addressing it is too expensive. But how is not addressing climate change impacting financial markets and how could it potentially impact financial markets moving forward? Yeah, it's funny how climate denialism has kind of moved into like, well, it exists, but it's too expensive or it's not a big deal. When I think

you know, we can't afford not to address it. I did save a quote from a board member of Allianz, one of the world's biggest insurance companies, and quote, capitalism as we know it ceases to be viable. And that's because insurance isn't just for our homes. You know, we use it for our vehicles. It's

Everywhere, businesses use insurance like it underpins so much of how our financial markets function. I live in California, if people were not aware, and California is often in the lead when it comes to state environmental and climate action. What's California doing with or without the federal government?

As Jessica had put it, California wasn't asleep at the wheel. You know, they have been doing things to address fire risk. That includes forest and vegetation management, wildfire resilience, things like this. But we're really in a race against climate change. And so the winds this year, that was what the state wasn't prepared for. And so a lot is happening now.

The hard part is being nimble, you know, so that you can actually respond to these worsening climate crises as they're happening when it's really hard to tell. Like we don't have a crystal ball. What are other states or anyone else doing that we should be optimistic about?

I mean, one thing that I've been really geeking out on is this idea of climate superfund laws. So basically, they put the onus on the biggest emitters, so fossil fuel companies, to actually pay for the destruction that natural disasters and climate change cause. New York has passed such a bill, Vermont has. And the idea is that these companies have to actually pay a levy

But then goes into this bucket that can then be used for climate resilience, climate adaptation, covering disaster, destruction, etc. So there's a lot going on. That's just one example. But I would definitely focus on state and local efforts right now for that sense of hope. Anya, as always, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you so much for having me.

That was my conversation with Crooked Climate correspondent, Anya Zolodzowski. This segment was sponsored by our nonprofit partner, Crooked Ideas. We'll get to more of the news in a moment, but if you like the show, make sure to subscribe, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, watch us on YouTube, and share with your friends. More to come after some ads.

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Mr. Secretary, what's the justification for using the military for civilian law enforcement purposes in L.A.? Why are you sending war fighters to cities to interact with civilians? Every American citizen deserves to live in a community that's safe. And ICE agents need to be able to do their job. They're being attacked for doing their job, which is deporting illegal criminals.

On Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Higgseth opened himself up to questioning from lawmakers for the first time since his swearing-in in January. Higgseth appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee to discuss the Department of Defense's 2026 budget.

His testimony came on the heels of President Trump's decision to deploy 4,800 National Guard members and Marines to Los Angeles, which, according to ABC News, is more troops than are in Iraq and Syria combined. The troops in L.A. are intended to respond to anti-immigration and customs enforcement protests.

President Trump justified the deployment by citing a little-used law, a specific section of Title 10 of the U.S. Code on Armed Services. During Tuesday's hearing, Democratic California Representative Pete Aguilar pushed Hegseth on that. The legal basis that the president used cites three examples of

and circumstances for the Guard, invasion by a foreign nation, a rebellion or dangerous rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States, or the president is unable with regular forces to execute the laws of the United States. Which authority is triggered here to justify the use? I don't know. You just read it yourself, and people can listen themselves, but it sounds like all three to me.

The Pentagon estimated during Tuesday's hearing that it would cost $134 million to have federal forces in Los Angeles. That's despite Secretary Hickseth not knowing exactly why they were allowed to be here. This is a record crowd. You never had a crowd this big. That's an honor. You think this crowd would have showed up for Biden? I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think so.

Hours after that hearing, Secretary Hegseth accompanied President Trump to Fort Bragg to mark the 250th anniversary of the Army. President Trump used the occasion to speak on a variety of topics, including the might of the U.S. military, his one big beautiful bill, and how terrible Los Angeles, the nation's second largest city, is. In Los Angeles, the governor of California, the mayor of Los Angeles, they're incompetent, and they paid...

A very normal way to discuss a city in your own fucking country.

California Governor Gavin Newsom filed suit against the Trump administration, mobilizing thousands of members of the state's National Guard over the weekend. Newsom also filed an emergency restraining order to block Trump from deploying even more troops to L.A. The request was denied with a hearing set for Thursday afternoon as of our recording time Tuesday afternoon.

One thing Trump made clear is that this country will restore military bases named after leaders of the Confederacy who lost the war they fought to leave this country. Under the Biden administration, the names of those forts were changed in an effort to make the armed forces more inclusive and less into losers. President Trump's visit to Fort Bragg comes before Saturday's military parade in Washington, D.C., which just happens to coincide with his birthday. On Tuesday morning, Trump told reporters that any protesters at the parade would face consequences.

Any protesters. I repeat, any. For those people that want to protest, they're going to be met with very big force. And I haven't even heard about a protest. But, you know, this is people that hate our country. But they will be met with very heavy force. Again, normal. We are making great progress on our Republican reconciliation bill that will lead to a stronger and safer America.

Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune appears to be optimistic, or at least is trying to stay optimistic, about President Trump's alleged Big Beautiful Bill. Republicans in the Senate are set to mull over the bill today, while some colleagues are likely to keep adding updates. Republicans are still debating Medicaid cuts, changes to food aid, and of course, the deficit.

On Tuesday, Politico reported Republicans were trying to finalize a scaled-down plan to direct the cost of some federal food aid to states as a way to pay for the mega bill. The House had passed its version a month ago, but even with all this stuff to hammer out, House Speaker Mike Johnson says the GOP can still deliver the bill to Trump by July 4th. That's despite the fact that ex-Trump friend Elon Musk took shots of the bill last week, calling it a, quote, "'disgusting abomination.'"

The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the humanitarian aid. We were 12 peaceful volunteers sailing on a civilian ship carrying humanitarian aid on international waters. We did not break laws. We did nothing wrong.

Activist Greta Thunberg was deported by Israel Tuesday after she was detained on an aid ship headed for Gaza. The Mad Lane, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was intercepted by Israeli forces Monday. Israel's foreign ministry said in a post on Twitter, quote, There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip. They do not involve Instagram selfies. The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the celebrities will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels.

Thunberg spoke to reporters after landing in Paris. This is about bringing as much humanitarian aid as we possibly could, while also sending a message of solidarity and hope, telling Palestinians that we stand behind you in this struggle and we are joining the global uprising of people demanding an end to the oppression and decolonization, not just in the metaphor.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition and other rights groups claim Israel violated international law by intercepting the ship and, quote, abducting them from international waters and forcibly transferring them into Israeli territory. Israel denies the claim, saying its naval blockade of Gaza is lawful and ships like the Madeline are just trying to breach it. And that's the news.

Before we go, Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, pandemic-handling powerhouse, and all-around badass, is on this week's episode of Pod Save the World. She joins host Tommy Vitor to talk about her new book, A Different Kind of Power, how she navigated COVID while other world leaders failed, the global rise of the far right, and why taking on big tech is a part of the job now. Listen to the interview now on the Pod Save the World feed or watch on YouTube.

That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, ask questions about why a Republican member of Congress is quitting Congress to start a new business in Guyana, maybe, and tell your friends to listen.

And if you're into reading, and not just about how Republican Representative Mark Green, chair of the Homeland Security Committee, is going to quit Congress for a job he won't tell anyone about that has something to do with Guyana, but again, he won't say more, like me. What Today is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at cricket.com slash subscribe. I'm Jane Koston, and what an interesting and random and very curious decision.

Water Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producers are Raven Yamamoto and Emily Fore. Our producer is Michelle Alloy. We had production help today from Johanna Case, Joseph Dutra, Greg Walters, and Julia Clare. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison, and our executive producer is Adrienne Hill. Our theme music is by Colin Gillyard and Kashaka. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East.

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