On Earth Day, a panel explored how local leaders are navigating climate risk, affordability, and resilience.

Cambridge, Massachusetts (May 2, 2025)—Cities confronting extreme weather events across the United States grapple with rising property insurance costs, financial strain from disaster recovery, and increased resident vulnerability. For leaders facing worsening storms and wildfires, this financial shift is a sign that the systems meant to protect residents are due for fresh thinking.

On Earth Day 2025, the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University and the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability brought together cutting-edge research, collaborative expertise, and responsiveness to pressing problems with a panel of local and national experts that discussed insurance solutions for escalating climate extremes.

Economic Effects of Climate Risk

Moderated by Harvard Law School professor emerita and Bloomberg Center for Cities faculty affiliate Susan Crawford, the conversation spotlighted the growing disconnect between climate vulnerability and insurance markets. As Crawford noted, when insurers raise rates or pull out of high-risk regions entirely, low- and moderate-income households are often left behind. “Insurance keeps property markets rolling. It backs up mortgages,” she said. “And as we see insurance becoming more expensive in riskier areas—and some insurers withdrawing altogether from markets they view to be unprofitable—that’s sending a signal of risk.”

Insurance Innovations

Describing Miami, where the impacts of climate change are already stark, panelist Nikisha Williams of The Miami Foundation emphasized the importance of local partnerships and flexible funding. “Last year we decided to do something different,” she said. “A parametric insurance policy allowed us to pour additional dollars into our community when a trigger hits. That is different from other policies, in which oftentimes you have to show the damage in order to receive the funds. With the parametric insurance policy, you get a payout relatively quickly—which, as we know, is what you need when you’re in a disaster. We wanted to make sure those funds would be able to support the nonprofits who are already at the front lines providing support in our communities.”

Urgency to Fix Roofs – and Systems

Panelist Ann Roberson of South Carolina’s Department of Insurance explained that her office is helping residents harden their homes against hurricanes through the Safe Home Mitigation Grant Program. Since 2007, the program has supported more than 8,500 families in making practical, structural upgrades—like fortified roofs—that reduce risk and improve insurability. The state’s effort, she explained, is about ensuring protection and economic stability, particularly in areas where coverage is becoming harder to access.

Carlos Martín, vice president at Resources for the Future and director of the Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, framed resilience as a system, not a series of projects. Drawing from his experience in housing and disaster recovery, he highlighted the value of preparedness, social cohesion, and governance reforms. “We’ve learned the hard way that risk doesn’t just live in flood zones—it lives in broken systems,” he said.

The discussion underscored a central theme: cities cannot wait for help to arrive. They must innovate—applying new thinking to insurance rules, building codes, financial tools, and community trust—to keep residents safe in an era of increasing volatility. As Crawford noted, “We can reduce physical risk by changing where people live and where and how they live with building codes and other efforts. We can think about new kinds of insurance products that trigger automatically, so that people are helped through disasters and recovery without having to wait for cash to come their way. We can also think about insurance as motivating us to change how we govern systems in America to help more people live thriving lives.”