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Insurance Industry Looking Hard At Climate Change
A recent paper in Science (abstract) examines the insurance industry's reaction to climate change. The industry rakes in trillions of dollars in revenues every year, and a shifting climate would have the potential to drastically cut into the profits left over after settlements have been paid. Hurricane Sandy alone did about $80 billion worth of damage to New York and New Jersey. With incredible amounts of money at stake, the industry is taking climate projections quite seriously. From the article:
"Many insurers are using climate science to better quantify and diversify their exposure, more accurately price and communicate risk, and target adaptation and loss-prevention efforts. They also analyze their extensive databases of historical weather- and climate-related losses, for both large- and small-scale events. But insurance modeling is a distinct discipline. Unlike climate models, insurers’ models extrapolate historical data rather than simulate the climate system, and they require outputs at finer scales and shorter time frames than climate models."
We've had a bunch of climate related stories on /. lately. My theory is that when IPCC AR5 comes out officially, the jig will be up. The alarmists are having to make hay while they still can.
For the blessed few who haven't been following the climate wars, IPCC AR5 is the United Nations latest report on global warming. It has several important findings including that shown in Figure 1.4 . The global climate has warmed less than all the IPCC's previous projections. They also conclude that the global temperature will warm about an additional degree in the 21st century. Dry places will get slightly drier. Wet places will get slightly wetter. Extreme weather events will not be more extreme or more frequent. Catastrophic anthropogenic global warming has been cancelled.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/12/14/the-real-ipcc-ar5-draft-bombshell-plus-a-poll/
Of course in a most twisted way they could prove useful. Those pollution producing corporations are becoming a bit too much of a profit burden, which would be cheaper, eliminating them or paying out of the damage they are generating. When targeting the cause is order of magnitude cheaper than paying for the damage. Strange things can happen out there in corporate wars lobbyists land. Politically you can already see distinct corporate alignments forming, copyright versus technology, financial versus energy (only certain forms) and, development versus military. How violent will the corporate wars become?
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
Would you rather your insurance company just hand out cash willy nilly?
Mo, of course not. But guess what? Insurance companies hire these people call - get this - Insurance Adjusters, who are - get this - "professionals" at evaluating claims.
But you know what? Most of them only look for reasons *NOT* to pay out on legitimate claims.
Oh wait 'your' emergency is somehow obvious and more important than everybody elses?
What an angry ignorant statement.
My claim is no more or less important than any other legitimate claim. Perhaps you need to look into how insurance companies deny legitimate claims?
Or perhaps you are one of these assholes that insurance companies hire to bullshit people out of making legitimate claims?
We're not talking about "entitlements" here, we're talking about paying for a service and not getting it.
But please, fuck off.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.