News & Analysis
April 16, 2026
In the aftermath of historic flooding that caused up to $2 billion in damage, Hawaiʻi lawmakers just took an important step to protect its residents and hold Big Oil accountable for one of the growing costs of the climate crisis.
On Tuesday the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 1166, which would address the rising cost and reduced availability of home insurance by empowering the state and insurance companies to take large oil and gas corporations to court to recover climate change’s contribution to rising insurance costs from extreme weather disasters.
The Hawaiʻi Senate passed a version of the bill last year. It will now go to a conference committee to resolve language differences in the two versions.
Home insurance has been in chaos in Hawaiʻi amid rising damages from climate-driven weather disasters like the drought-aided Maui wildfires. Residents have seen home insurance rates double or triple in recent years and state data shows some insurers raised rates by more than 50% just in the past year. Non-renewals for insurance policies have nearly tripled.
This was before a series of abnormally strong Pacific storms dropped more than 2 trillion gallons of water on the state, causing the worst flooding in 20 years. Damage has topped $1 billion, straining the state’s budget and increasing the likelihood that insurers will raise premiums to recoup losses.
Hawaiʻi joins California and New York in advancing bills to make Big Oil pay their fair share of these costs, rather than making everyday people foot the bill. Evidence shows that large oil and gas corporations knew decades ago that their products would supercharge the weather disasters driving up insurance rates. But instead of changing course, they lied to the public about the problem and undermined efforts to transition to cleaner energy while pocketing hundreds of billions in profit.
Recent polling shows the climate-driven insurance costs are top of mind for Hawaiʻi voters. 72% said they want the state to do more to address rising home insurance costs and 61% said they support efforts to make large oil and gas companies pay their fair share of the costs from extreme weather disasters worsened by climate change.
“The largest oil and gas corporations, who knowingly contributed to the drought conditions that made the Maui fires worse, pay nothing while continuing to rake in billions of dollars in profit every year,” Hawaiʻi State Senator Jarrett Keohokealole said in a recent commentary. “Hawaiʻi taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill for Big Oil’s deception. Until the companies most responsible for this mess pay their fair share, Hawaiʻi families will continue to pay more for insurance, housing, and disaster recovery.”