A Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation by Carolyn Kousky;Billy Fleming;Alan M. Berger;

Author:Carolyn Kousky;Billy Fleming;Alan M. Berger;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Island Press
Published: 2021-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

Insurance and Coastal Adaptation

Carolyn Kousky

AS THE CLIMATE WARMS, one of the most concerning impacts for coastal communities will be changing weather-related extreme events, such as floods, hurricanes, and tropical storms. Escalating disaster risk is being driven by a number of factors. First, as sea levels rise, coastal tidal flooding is becoming more common and storm surge is pushed further inland, causing greater flood damage.1 Second, there is mounting evidence that a warming ocean is leading to more intense hurricanes and that hurricanes are tracking farther north.2 Third, in many parts of the country, including some coastal areas, intense precipitation events are increasing, leading to localized floods.3 This will be exacerbated by continued watershed development. There is also indication that hurricanes are more frequently “stalling,” which results in much larger amounts of rain in a given area and thus greater flood risk.4 These coastal disasters are the most damaging of all natural hazards. The six costliest disasters in the United States since 1980 were all hurricanes, totaling roughly $568 billion in losses.5 Researchers predict damages will only worsen in the coming years.

Insurance is critical for recovery from coastal disasters; it provides financial protection to those impacted when other sources of financial recovery are insufficient and too delayed. Insurance can thus limit the extreme hardship that can occur for uninsured households after a damaging disaster. As coastal disaster events become more frequent, insurance is going to be increasingly necessary to maintain resilience. Yet, the same conditions that are making insurance more critical than ever for coastal communities also have the potential to stress property insurance markets. This chapter focuses on households and discusses insurance against coastal extremes and what necessary policy reforms are needed to ensure equitable financial recovery at the coast. After explaining the critical role of insurance in recovery, and discussing public and private roles in disaster insurance, the chapter discusses the impacts of climate change on the future of insurance at the coast. The chapter concludes with policy recommendations on how to maintain the benefits of coastal insurance as climate change continues to escalate coastal disaster risk.

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