Released: December 02, 2006

Coastal insurance crisis hits dream homes

Source: Joel Garreau, Washington Post (Free Registration)

A place near the water has been an American dream for a very long time. Fifty-four percent of Americans live within 50 miles of a coast.

This is the year, however, in which the big boys in global finance got religion about climate change. As a result, this American dream - as far north as the Washington area, and even New York and New England - is under attack.

Follow the money. Insurance doesn’t sound like a world-changer. It seems so banal and prosaic, like reliable electricity or clean water. Yet without it - you want a place to live? You cannot get a mortgage without insurance.

You want a job? A commercial enterprise cannot run without insurance.

Turns out you don’t have to wait for the waves to lap around your ankles. The climate is changing, Lord knows exactly how fast. But the money is moving pretty quickly. Call 2006 the Batten Down the Hatches Moment.

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