A supercharged hurricane season is brewing — with insurance problems in the forecast
Hope you’re good with names… The US hurricane season (typically June through November) could see as many as 25 named storms develop in the Atlantic Ocean this year, well above the usual 14. A half dozen of them — with names like Debby, Milton, and Patty — could make landfall as warmer ocean temps make for ideal storm fuel. This hurricane szn could start earlier and last longer.
Hot tub: Ocean temps in the tropical Atlantic — where 75% of major hurricanes form — are eight weeks ahead of schedule. The hotter-than-usual temps mirror past bad storm years like 2005 (Katrina) and 2020 (the most active year on record).
Sooner, longer: Warm water feeds hurricanes, and ocean temps have been shattering records for the past year. That could cause storms to form before June and last beyond November.
Insurers are evacuating… Even with a milder hurricane season last year, the US experienced a record # of weather and climate disasters that cost over $1B each. That has sent insurers running. In Florida, where homeowners pay the highest premiums in the country, nine insurers have shuttered or merged since 2021. A dozen ditched Louisiana in the past three years. The average home-insurance premium in Florida skyrocketed 42% last year. By the end of this year, it could approach $12K (quadruple the national average).
Backstop: Citizens, a state-backed insurer created as a last resort, has become Florida’s biggest property insurer as private companies bow out.
Climate crisis → insurance crisis... As extreme-weather events from fires to floods become the norm, home-insurance rates are expected to hit a record $2.5K this year. And it’s getting harder to get covered at all as insurers flee disaster-prone states. Last month, State Farm (California’s largest insurer) cut coverage for 72K CA homes as the state’s wildfire risks rise.