Report: Hurricanes, global warming driving insurers from coastal states

Homeowners and businesses are finding it harder to afford, or even obtain, insurance in coastal states after catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina, and global warming is going to make the situation even worse, according to a report released Friday by a nonprofit environmental advocacy group.

Insurance companies faced with record claims after recent active hurricane seasons and predictions of more destructive storms ahead are reducing their risks by walking away from hurricane-prone areas in states along the Southeast coast and Gulf of Mexico or dramatically raising premiums, Environmental Defense found.

The trend will continue until the federal government confronts the growing problem of global warming, contends the group, which works on issues including global warming, oceans and health.

"We need a cap on greenhouse gas emissions"--and soon, to give businesses time to plan how to reduce emissions, Melissa Carey, a climate change policy specialist with the group, told reporters during a conference call.

"Climate change is not something we're going to be able to sort of manage away," Carey said. "At a certain point, you're not going to be able to put the coastal states up on stilts or build a big seawall to protect Florida from sea-level rise."

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