Is Climate Change Driving Insurance Costs?

Are rising insurance costs really driven by climate change—or is that just the latest political narrative?In this episode, Dr. David Legates takes apart the claim that extreme weather is driving a home insurance crisis. From hurricanes and droughts to wildfires in Maui and Los Angeles, he examines the data—and the stories behind the headlines.The real drivers? Land-use changes, population growth, and poor policy decisions—not a surge in climate disasters.This episode also explores how media narratives, rapid-response “attribution science,” and political incentives shape public perception before the facts are fully known.If you’ve heard that “climate change is making everything worse,” this is a clear-eyed look at what the evidence actually shows—and what it doesn’t.https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9qy4knd8wohttps://rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/disasters-cost-more-than-ever-buthttps://abc30.com/post/broken-power-lines-caused-deadly-maui-wildfire-new-report-shows/15388308/https://www.independent.org/article/2026/01/07/the-2025-los-angeles-wildfires-lessons-and-key-recommendations/Visit our podcast resource page: https://cornwallalliance.org/listen%20to%20our%20podcast%20created%20to%20reign/Our work is entirely supported by donations from people like you. If you benefit from our work and would like to partner with us, please visit www.cornwallalliance.org/donate.