If you are like me, you have probably noticed an increase in costs for cabin or home insurance over the last several years.

Like many of you, I’ve heard and read about the reasons for this and decided to try to do something about it.

I called my insurance agent, a kindly person with whom we’ve worked for many years, who confirmed that it is due, in part, to climactic change causing increases in the number and severity of extreme weather events, such as hail, high winds, tornadoes, etc., both locally and in other parts of the country.

According to a publication, titled “How is climate change impacting home insurance markets,” produced by the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization based in Washington, D.C., significant increases in home repair costs since 2020 is also a factor, in addition to an increasing number of insurance claims from climate-related disasters.

The report goes on to say that the increasing number of claims “ … is partly due to significant

increases

in building and development in high-risk areas and partly due to increasing

frequency

and

intensity

of natural disasters as the climate changes.”

Over the last 25 years, almost $3 trillion in losses was recorded across the U.S. due to weather-related damages. While a lot of that is unavoidable, there are some things that we can do locally and individually.

First, look at the data we have at

www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/documents-reports/notice-of-changes/2025-notice-of-changes/billion-dollar-weather-and-climate-disasters

(

because the U.S isn’t going to collect it anymore

). It’s a bit of a comfort to know that Hubbard County

is not a high risk

area for major weather disasters. However, that doesn’t mean there is no risk, as confirmed by the recent severe wind damage in the Bemidji area.

While our area is at lower risk overall, we still are much higher than the state average when it comes to wildfires, obviously because Hubbard County has a lot of trees. Besides risks to people and structures, wildfires can also damage lakes, which depend on thriving forests in the watershed for lake health.

So what can we do to reduce our wildfire risk? Well, you can start by talking to your agent to see what you could do to lower your insurance costs.

Metal roofs and siding are more fire resistant, and may be more hail resistant. To reduce fire damage potential around your cabin or home, there is also benefit in creating defensible spaces on your property, and

clearing vegetation, debris, and pruning trees

(www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/wildfire/preparing-homes-for-wildfire).

Obviously, care with campfires or other burning and being aware of drought conditions and adhering to fire restrictions are important. Particularly this time of year, fireworks also present a problem.

In the larger picture, clearing underbrush and debris in forests and supporting healthy wetlands can help stop fire propagation. To that end, healthy relationships with beaver populations might help to create and sustain wetlands, according to

Dr. Emily Fairfax”

of the University of Minnesota (

twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/beavers-support-freshwater-conservation-and-ecosystem-stability

).

Now, I’m not going to suggest that more ponds created by beavers is going to lower your insurance premium, but a healthy ecology is more resilient, and when it comes to fires, humans acting together can reduce some of the risk.

Members of the Hubbard County Coalition of Lake Associations write a monthly column in the Enterprise regarding water-related opportunities in the region.