For years homeowners’ insurance was just there. It was a safety net in the background, ready to catch someone when disaster struck. But now, that net is fraying, and homeowners are scrambling to understand why coverage is becoming so expensive — or in some areas, nearly impossible to obtain.

Homeowners across the country — especially in wildfire-prone states like California — are seeing their premiums skyrocket, their policies canceled, or, in some cases, they are left without any options at all. Insurers too are feeling the pressure. For years, they relied on traditional risk models to calculate premiums, issue policies, and assume predictable loss patterns. But the landscape is changing. Rising claims, extreme weather events, and economic pressures are pushing the industry to a breaking point.

At the center of this crisis is a fundamental question: how does the industry adapt to a world with accelerating natural hazard risk? On this episode of Core Conversations, host Maiclaire Bolton Smith sits down with the co-founder of Wows Insurance to talk about this issue and what can be done to address this ongoing crisis.

In This Episode

2:46 – Why are insurers paying out more than they are taking in?

4:48 – What will happen to the housing market if insurance becomes too expensive or impossible to get?

6:52 – Are there alternative paths to providing insurance beyond the traditional avenues?

9:51 – How can governmental policy development and homeowner participation help improve insurance accessibility?

14:08 – Is it possible for insurance to remain a profitable business long-term?

17:10 – Erika Stanley does the numbers in the housing market in The Sip.

18:12 – How do you insure the value of a home long-term as the market continues to drive up prices?

22:26 – Comparing the 2024 and 2025 California wildfire season.

24:27 – In which other states is wildfire risk increasing dramatically?

26:43 – What does the future landscape of wildfire insurance look like?

Up Next: The Homes the LA Wildfires Left: A Hidden Insurance Crisis?

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