Moira Birss is a senior fellow with the Climate and Community Institute and an independent consultant on just transition policy.
Almost 60 years ago, Joan Didion wrote that “the city burning is Los Angeles’s deepest image of itself.” Since then, insurance companies and developers have prioritized short-term profits over housing resilience and affordability for Californians.
The home insurance system is fatally flawed. As climate disasters intensify, it’s becoming dangerously clear this system cannot protect us. We need a new model entirely — one focused on safeguarding people from financial consequences, not enriching insurers.