Insurers Flee California As Catastrophic Wildfires Become The Norm
Insurers Flee California As Catastrophic Wildfires Become The Norm
FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2020, file photo, a house burns on Platina Road at the Zogg Fire near Ono, Calif. Pacific Gas & Electric has been charged with manslaughter and other crimes, Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, in a Northern California wildfire last year that killed four people and destroyed hundreds of homes. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File) Ethan Swope/AP hide caption
FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2020, file photo, a house burns on Platina Road at the Zogg Fire near Ono, Calif. Pacific Gas & Electric has been charged with manslaughter and other crimes, Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, in a Northern California wildfire last year that killed four people and destroyed hundreds of homes. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)
Ethan Swope/APAs climate change gets worse, California is seeing larger and more dangerous wildfires. And in response some insurers are leaving the state behind, finding the growing risk too high to pay.
Host Ailsa Chang talks with Michael Wara, who directs a climate and energy policy program at Stanford, about the financial calculus insurers are making as the threat of climate-fueled disasters grows.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.