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PaperclipPerfector  8mo ago (text post)   3779 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 27, 2023

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I'm seeing articles about insurance companies withdrawing from Florida and California because of wild fires. Why are they exiting the market entirely instead of just raising prices to account for the higher risk?

Well just like any business there's a break-even point where their costs will outstrip what people are willing to pay for insurance. With the dramatic rise of housing prices pretty much everywhere in the US especially over the past ~5 years, it makes perfect sense to me.

I figured insurance would be different because most people have mortgages so they are contractually obligated to carry insurance. My understanding is that if I let mine lapse my mortgage company would purchase it and send me the bill. Are people just letting their houses go uninsured because it's too expensive?

Yes. Lots of people do it. They can get in trouble with their mortgage company but not everyone gets caught.

Then they get to learn about the not so wonderful world of force placed insurance. It's, as you can imagine, atrociously expensive and the borrower has to pay for it.

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