The US insurance industry faces a mounting crisis as hailstorms, fueled by climate change, increase in severity and frequency. Said Ahmad, a Denver roofing business owner, notes that severe storms now occur every other year instead of once a decade, causing damages that often exceed $60,000 per home. Hail is eroding insurers’ balance sheets, leading to higher premiums and reduced coverage. Max McClure of insurance startup Steadily explains that the unpredictability of hail complicates risk assessment, unlike wildfires where risks are more straightforward to evaluate. Victor Gensini, an environmental professor, highlights that warmer air from climate change results in larger hailstones, with recent records set in Alabama, Colorado, and Texas. A new research center, supported by 12 insurance firms, aims to study hail and help the industry model worst-case scenarios. — news from Business Insider
