To the editor:
For the record, last year — 2023 — is now officially the hottest year on planet earth since record keeping began in 1850. The warmest day on earth was July 22, 2024. Hurricane Ian, which hit Southwest Florida with the largest storm surge since 1873, resulted in $112 billion dollars in damage. While there are still people reading this that believe climate change is a hoax, or a cycle, or simply overblown, there is a very powerful group of people who disagree. They are called actuaries and they work for the insurance industry.
Florida gets hit by approximately 40% of all hurricanes that land in the United States. With the mid-Atlantic experiencing the warmest ocean waters ever recorded and storm after storm stirring along hurricane alley, you know these number-crunching accountants are paying attention. Large re-insurance firms, such as Munich Re or Lloyds of London that cover the losses of thousands of smaller insurance companies, are raising their rates with every degree of warming. They are in the insurance business to make money and storms like Ian, Debbie and the next big one scare the hell out of them.
Which brings us to politics. While there are still plenty of climate change deniers out there in Congress or running for office, they are not on your side. Florida already leads the nation in insurance costs with a projected average cost in 2024 of $11,759 annually. Several Florida insurers have already requested a 50% increase for 2025. If you vote for candidates who reject the very idea of climate change you are, in essence, voting for higher insurance premiums. Drill baby drill might mean your gas prices drop a few dollars in the short term, but don’t you think that paying $15,000 to 17,000 a year for your home insurance policies is a far bigger problem? That’s why you should make sure your candidate not only believes in climate change, but that they are willing to do something about it. Otherwise, drop your coverage and risk everything you have in an overheated world. Good luck with that one.
Charles Sobczak
Sanibel
Alice J. Roden started working for Trending Insurance News at the end of 2021. Alice grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. A writer with a vast insurance industry background Alice has help with several of the biggest insurance companies. Before joining Trending Insurance News, Alice briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers home, renters and other property insurance stories.