NY FOCUS: Could New York Force Insurance Companies to Drop Fossil Fuels?

WJFF - The Local Edition - Special Report

In New York and across the country, insurers like Liberty Mutual, State Farm, and Allstate, among others, have stakes in both sides of the climate crisis. To make up some of the lost revenue, they have pared back coverage and hiked rates by more than 30 percent since 2019, in large part because the increasing frequency of storms and other extreme weather events is making damage to homes even costlier. And many of them have also been investing customer premiums in oil and gas and underwriting fossil fuel projects.

New York legislators introduced a bill that would prohibit insurers from supporting new fossil fuel projects and phase out existing ones. The bill would also protect homeowners, preventing insurers from dropping customers after storms and requiring a year’s notice for cancellations.

New York Focus has been reporting on the details of the bill. NY Focus is the independent newsroom doing in-depth reporting on how the state really works, and Radio Catskill partners with them to regularly bring you their investigative journalism.

Jason Dole spoke with Colin Kinniburgh, Climate and Environmental Politics Reporter for NY Focus.