Investigating rising homeowners’ insurance burden as a driver of climate change migration

• In Event: 30607 - Climate Change Unfolding: Power, Privilege and Diverse Experiences of Impacts and Responses

Abstract

In response to growing levels of climate change-related hazard risk, homeowners’ insurance companies have been raising premiums and cancelling coverage altogether for some residents. These institutional changes have enormous implications for housing access and affordability, constraining many affected residents’ ability to pay for insurance, retain their mortgages, and safeguard household wealth built through homeownership. Despite the significance of these rapidly changing insurance conditions, very scarce research exists documenting which residents are experiencing these impacts and whether these changes may be influencing residents’ decisions of where to live. We report results from a new survey of 2,400 California residents, first offering a descriptive picture of who is most affected by the growing homeowners’ insurance burden, reporting results across demographic groups, geographic regions, and by political party affiliation. Second, we examine the relationships between changing homeowners’ insurance conditions and residential mobility expectations. We test the hypothesis that, as insurance companies raise premiums and withdraw coverage in response to hazard risk, these institutional impacts to housing affordability in turn will be associated with heightened residential migration intentions. This analysis will support theoretical development on the specific mechanisms through which climate change can influence mobility, focusing on the ways that indirect climate impacts – those mediated through financial institutions – may influence migration.

Authors

• Kathryn McConnell, University of British Columbia

• Nick Tinoco, University of California-Los Angeles

• Liz Koslov, University of California-Los Angeles