BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 22, 2024
Maine’s insurance market is typically stable and profitable, but it was stretched by severe storms last year. Payouts and other costs consumed nearly all of the revenue from premiums for homeowners insurance in Maine in 2023, meaning it was barely profitable. Insurance agents who connect these sharp increases to more frequent and severe storms taking place are worried this means insurers might grow reticent to cover Maine’s coastal communities, or pull out of areas prone to flooding or wind damage entirely. It’s a national trend. Storms caused by climate change have already led carriers to reduce their coverage in other states such as California and Florida, or pull out of them entirely.