Three people walk by a home damaged by Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Fla. in 2018. Last year, home insurance rates in Florida were over three times the national average.

Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

Three people walk by a home damaged by Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Fla. in 2018. Last year, home insurance rates in Florida were over three times the national average.

Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

A warming planet is making storms and wildfires more intense, and more destructive. That’s making homeowners insurance more expensive and harder to find.

Insurance companies are raising their rates because, they say, they need to cover increasing losses from extreme-weather-related property damage.

This week the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is holding a summit to address this spike in premiums. HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman explains what the federal government is looking to learn.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink and Rebecca Hersher. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Neela Banerjee. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.