Homeowners risk billions in losses as ‘Dirty Dozen’ insurers—citing climate risks— pull coverage while profiting from fossil fuels

A statement by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that twelve major insurers, termed the 'Dirty Dozen', are restricting homeowners insurance in California due to climate risks while simultaneously profiting from fossil fuel investments and underwriting.

• Homeowners in California face potential property value losses between $9.87 billion and $32.1 billion resulting from more than 100,000 insurance non-renewals.
• Twelve major insurers, referred to as the 'Dirty Dozen', have restricted coverage in California. These companies collectively hold an estimated $113 billion in fossil fuel investments and earn $3.6 billion in underwriting income from fossil fuels.
• Three specific companies have announced mass non-renewal decisions: Berkshire Hathaway (via AmGUARD) with 50,000 policies, State Farm with 30,000 policies out of 72,000, and Nationwide (via Crestbrook) with 20,275 policies.
• CIEL suggests that insurers' actions—profiting from fossil fuels that drive climate change, raising premiums, and then refusing to renew policies in exposed areas—may constitute unconscionable conduct under California's Unfair Competition Law (UCL) or violate the state's implied covenant of good-faith dealing in contracts.
• Connecticut lawmakers have advanced a surcharge mechanism on fossil fuel insurance policies through the Climate Resiliency bill (SB 11) to fund climate resiliency efforts, which the document cites as a potential model for other states.

APA

Khan, R., & Slidders, C. (2024). Homeowners risk billions in losses as ‘Dirty Dozen’ insurers—citing climate risks— pull coverage while profiting from fossil fuels. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/california-climate-insurance/

Chicago

Khan, Risalat, and Charles Slidders. Homeowners risk billions in losses as ‘Dirty Dozen’ insurers—citing climate risks— pull coverage while profiting from fossil fuels. Center for International Environmental Law, 2024. https://www.ciel.org/california-climate-insurance/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Khan |first1=Risalat |last2=Slidders |first2=Charles |title=Homeowners risk billions in losses as ‘Dirty Dozen’ insurers—citing climate risks— pull coverage while profiting from fossil fuels |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=3 April 2024 |url=https://www.ciel.org/california-climate-insurance/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{khan2024homeowners, author = {Khan, Risalat and Slidders, Charles}, title = {{Homeowners risk billions in losses as ‘Dirty Dozen’ insurers—citing climate risks— pull coverage while profiting from fossil fuels}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://www.ciel.org/california-climate-insurance/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }