# How climate disasters are shaping insurance markets

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2025-04-10
- Length: 33m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-04-10-how-climate-disasters-are-shaping-insurance-markets

## Summary

Dr. Judd Boomhower, an assistant professor of economics at UC San Diego and faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, explains why homeowners insurance markets are destabilizing due to climate change. He details how catastrophe models (cat models) struggle to predict losses because they rely on limited historical data, forcing insurers to use broad-brush decisions to pull back coverage in high-risk areas like California and Florida. Boomhower also discusses the critical role of reinsurance, the rise of undercapitalized 'fly-by-night' insurers, and the potential of parametric insurance to reduce contracting friction despite basis risk.

## Chapters

- [2:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-04-10-how-climate-disasters-are-shaping-insurance-markets#t=134) Introduction: Dr. Judd Boomhower and the Insurance Crisis
- [4:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-04-10-how-climate-disasters-are-shaping-insurance-markets#t=254) Climate Impacts on Homeowners Insurance Markets
- [8:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-04-10-how-climate-disasters-are-shaping-insurance-markets#t=495) The Failure and Function of Catastrophe Models
- [16:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-04-10-how-climate-disasters-are-shaping-insurance-markets#t=1010) Reinsurance Markets and Correlated Risk
- [26:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-04-10-how-climate-disasters-are-shaping-insurance-markets#t=1566) Parametric Insurance and Undercapitalized Insurers

## Topics

- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- UC San Diego (other)
- National Bureau of Economic Research (other)
- EnergyHub (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [What is Insurtech IoT? | Pepper's Scott Ford | Internet of Things Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2023-04-11-what-is-insurtech-iot-peppers-scott-ford-internet-of-things-podcast) (IoT For All Podcast)
- [E057 LexisNexis' Dan Davis | How is IoT Reshaping the Insurance Industry?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2020-03-17-e057-lexisnexis-dan-davis-how-is-iot-reshaping-the-insurance-industry) (IoT For All Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-04-10-how-climate-disasters-are-shaping-insurance-markets. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Catalyst.