Thanks to Hannah LaClaire for highlighting Maine’s rising homeowners’ insurance costs. This issue isn’t isolated; we face similar substantial increases in Massachusetts.
One crucial detail often overlooked is the significant investments the insurance industry makes in fossil fuels, the very sector driving the need for higher insurance rates. As of late 2021, major insurance companies had $582 billion invested in fossil fuel companies, including a surprisingly large amount in coal, the worst offender.
How does this make sense? Are insurance companies investing to ensure they can raise prices in the future? This scenario would be akin to pharmaceutical companies or the government investing in tobacco or fast food to sustain the market for cancer, heart attack or weight-loss drugs.
It’s time for the insurance industry to consider the long-term impacts on consumers and the environment. By continuing to fund fossil fuels, they perpetuate the cycle of climate-related disasters and rising insurance costs. Let’s push for greater transparency and accountability in how our insurance premiums are used and demand an end to fossil fuel investments. I urge readers to contact the Maine Bureau of Insurance to demand that insurers doing business in Maine stop underwriting fossil fuels. Massachusetts residents should do the same in our commonwealth.
George Gaines
Boxford, Mass.
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