US families face desperate choice: Food or insurance - BBC News

Extreme weather and climate change are driving up home insurance costs, forcing some into desperation.

14 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsClimate changeImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Hurricane Katrina was America's costliest hurricane when it hit New Orleans in 2005By Natalie Sherman & Brandon DrenonBBC NewsAs extreme weather events multiply, home insurance providers in the US are rapidly raising rates - or quitting the business altogether - forcing many into severe financial distress.

Gretchen Bradford decided this year not to pay for home insurance.

The 59-year-old has lived her whole life in New Orleans, which sits on Louisiana's Gulf Coast in a zone climate experts call Hurricane Alley for the devastating storms - including Hurricane Katrina in 2005 - that routinely crash against its shores.

She lives in the home her parents purchased in 1958, a prized possession which, after each hurricane, has become increasingly expensive to protect with home insurance.

In 2021, she was paying $3,035 (£2,386) annually. After her insurer stopped writing new policies in her neighbourhood, in 2022, the quote she received from the state-backed plan was more than triple that amount - $9,876 - a sum she could not afford.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66367224?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

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