News & Analysis
August 5, 2025
The bill for climate change is coming due, and right now everyday Americans are the ones being asked to pay it. Extreme weather disasters are causing billions of dollars of damage — costs that insurance companies are passing onto their customers through higher rates and dropped coverage.
A new report from the Center for Climate Integrity explains how state and local policymakers across the country have the power to push for a fairer system — one in which the fossil fuel companies most responsible for the climate crisis pay their fair share.
“How Big Oil is Fueling the Insurance Crisis — And Why State Policymakers Should Act” highlights how worsening extreme weather is destabilizing insurance markets across the country, driving up the cost of living for millions of Americans and threatening a broader financial crisis in the banking and real estate industries. The report explores legislative efforts in states like Hawaiʻi, California and Connecticut to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for the growing economic consequences of climate change.
Nearly all Americans are paying more for home insurance, with rates rising by an average of 24% over the past three years, according to the Consumer Federation of America. And it’s not just coastal or wildfire-prone states feeling the pinch — rates rose in 95% of zip codes across the country, and states like Illinois, Arizona and Pennsylvania saw some of the largest increases.
The higher costs are also raising rents, straining affordable housing development and leading millions of Americans to go without home insurance altogether — 12% of American homeowners no longer have an insurance policy, up from 5% in 2019, according to an industry survey.
Insurance companies are even exiting entire “high-risk” communities altogether, leaving residents scrambling to secure coverage for their homes. This is causing chaos in local housing markets, as most banks won’t give a mortgage to a potential home buyer without insurance coverage.
Major oil and gas companies knew decades ago that their products would lead to the kinds of extreme weather disasters that are leading to skyrocketing insurance rates. But rather than change course, those same companies engaged in a decades-long campaign to deceive the public about the reality of climate change and their products’ role in exacerbating global warming. That campaign continues today, with Big Oil pitching false solutions to climate change while continuing to expand their production of fossil fuels.
While the public is being asked to pay for all of the financial consequences of climate change, Big Oil continues to rake in record profits. The global insurance industry reported an estimated $140 billion in losses from extreme weather disasters last year. That’s a big chunk of money, but one that could be easily covered by a global oil and gas industry that has averaged nearly $3 billion in profit per day in recent years.
To learn more, read the full report here.
