Location, location, location: Why experts say climate risk should also factor into where you live

There is a growing need to include information about climate-related weather risks in real estate listings in Canada. The information is currently not easy to access.

If you own – or even rent – property in Florida, you have probably noticed that the cost of home insurance in the Sunshine State does not come cheap. Florida is one of the places in the U.S. that is most at risk to the whims of climate change – stronger hurricanes and storm surges, especially.

But insurers have been taking that risk into account with greater diligence as climate-fuelled extreme weather gets worse. Some, like AAA or Farmers Insurance, are either dialling back or getting out of the Florida insurance market completely. In California, State Farm has called it quits.

“We have seen a very, very dramatic increase in insurance premiums, both commercially and residentially,” said Bill Hughes, the executive director of applied research at the Bergstrom Real Estate Center at the University of Florida.

But it turns out that insurance premiums are still not high enough to dissuade people from moving or snowbirding in Florida; the state adds about a thousand new residents every day, despite the known risk of hurricanes, flooding and eventual sea level rise.

Canadian insurers are also watching the trends carefully and adjusting where needed, though the Insurance Bureau of Canada does not foresee any regions becoming ‘uninsurable’ in Canada in the near future.

In the United States, homeowners, and prospective homeowners, have the benefit of rich data that allows them to make informed decisions about climate-related risks, a growing consideration in real estate decisions.

In Canada, not so much.

Flooding is the top weather-related hazard facing property owners in Canada; flooded homes and basements cost insurers around $2 billion a year. But in most communities, residents and insurers are flying blind because flood maps are 20 to 25 years out of date.