Part ofclimate change →

FEDERALhearing transcript

High Impact

Senate Hearing: How Climate Change Affects Insurance and the Economy

Original title: RISKY BUSINESS: HOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS CHANGING INSURANCE MARKETS

January 1, 2023

climate change insurance budget housing market flood insurance wildfire risk economy

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

The Frame

What this does

This hearing explores the potential for climate-driven insurance instability to trigger broader economic damage, affecting mortgage markets and federal budget stability.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Homeowners

Changes in insurance market stability can impact property values, mortgage availability, and insurance premiums.

Insurance Companies

These entities face changing risk assessments and potential market volatility due to climate-related natural disasters.

Federal Government

The government manages the National Flood Insurance Program and faces potential budgetary impacts from systemic economic instability.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2023.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The Senate Budget Committee held a hearing to examine how climate-related disasters, such as flooding and wildfires, are disrupting insurance markets. The committee discussed the potential for these market shifts to create systemic economic risks similar to the 2008 financial crisis.

Key Facts

The hearing was the fourth in a series by the Senate Budget Committee examining the budgetary impacts of climate change.
The committee focused on risks to the National Flood Insurance Program and private insurance markets.
Chairman Whitehouse stated that climate disruptions in insurance markets can lead to instability in mortgage and housing markets.
The hearing explored the potential for systemic economic damage across the national economy, comparing the risk to the 2008 financial crisis.
Five expert witnesses provided testimony regarding insurance, real estate, and climate forecasting.
The hearing took place on March 22, 2023, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Why It Matters

This hearing explores the potential for climate-driven insurance instability to trigger broader economic damage, affecting mortgage markets and federal budget stability.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main goal of this hearing?

To understand how climate change-related disasters, like floods and wildfires, affect the insurance industry and the broader U.S. economy.

Who testified at this hearing?

Experts from the insurance industry, academia, and climate research organizations, including representatives from Aon, Milliman, the Wharton School, the R Street Institute, and the Climate Forecast Applications Network.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Climate-Budget Linkage

The Senate Budget Committee is explicitly framing climate change as a core budgetary and systemic economic risk rather than solely an environmental issue.

Senate Budget Committee Sheldon Whitehouse

Connected Entities

personJerry Theodorou“Director at R Street Institute”Map →

personBenjamin Keys“Professor of Real Estate at Wharton School”Map →

personNancy Watkins“Principal & Consulting Actuary at Milliman”Map →

personJudith Curry“President of Climate Forecast Applications Network”Map →

personCharles E. Grassley“Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee”Map →

personSheldon Whitehouse“Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee”Map →

personEric Andersen“President of Aon”Map →

organizationSenate Budget Committee“Congressional committee conducting the hearing”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance75
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy40
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools