Credit: Pixabay Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems, like the future of our planet, and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. You might think climate change just affects the weather or polar bears. But that’s not the case. It also creeps into our economy. For example— home insurance. Juliana Merullo and Nat Hardy from our Possibly team are here to explain. Juliana Merullo: Hiya Megan! Nat Hardy: Thanks for having us! Megan Hall: So, how does climate change affect home insurance? Juliana Merullo: Well, let’s think about how insurance is supposed to work. If you own a home, you pay your home insurance each month. Nat Hardy: Then, if something like a hurricane or hail storm or even a wildfire causes damage to your home, the insurance company gives you money to make repairs or rebuild. Juliana Merullo: And the reason this works is that all the other people who paid their monthly insurance bills, and didn’t need to repair their homes , are essentially covering your repairs. Nat Hardy: The insurance basically spreads out the risk . You’re protected in case something happens to your home. And the insurance company can still make a profit. Megan Hall: So, climate change is messing with that formula? Juliana Merullo: Exactly. To find out how, we talked to Dave Jones. He’s the director of the Climate Risk Initiative at the UC Berkeley School of Law, and used to serve as California’s Insurance Commissioner. Nat Hardy: He says that extreme weather caused by climate change is creating a lot of havoc. Dave Jones: These things are killing more of us, injuring more of us, but also causing more physical damage , which is causing insurance companies to pay out more money. […]