As extreme weather rattles property-insurance markets across the U.S., lawmakers in several states are trying to encourage lawsuits that hold the oil and gas industry responsible.
But insurance officials, instead of being supportive, are warning that legal efforts to make the fossil fuel industry pay for rate increases won’t work — either in court or to fix the national insurance crisis.
The latest example comes from Hawaii, where a powerful insurance trade group urged lawmakers to avoid “litigation-driven approaches” to address the spiraling cost and declining availability of home insurance.
Lawsuits against fossil fuel giants would become “complex, lengthy and expensive,” the American Property Casualty Insurance Association wrote in comments to the Hawaii Legislature. APCIA represents home, auto and business insurers.
