CNN: “People Are Buying Up Burned Lots in LA. Should they Be Concerned about Future Fires?”
RFF Fellow Penny Liao comments on the relationship between insurance costs and the choice to build new homes in risky areas.
Building in areas prone to natural disasters can increase insurance costs for even those homeowners who don’t live in extreme danger zones, according to Penny Liao, an economist at Resources for the Future, a nonprofit focused on improving environmental and economic outcomes.
“The fires will directly impact the availability and affordability of insurance in California in general,” Liao said. “When we build in a risky area, obviously there’s a question of whether people truly understand the risk.”
