It is a fact universally acknowledged that Glencoe Republican state senator Glenn Gruenhagen is a climate change denier. Less known is that he's in the insurance industry, running a successful agency in Glencoe that offers a range of products, including home insurance.
Several recent article on the effects of climate change on that industry have left Bluestem wondering how the conservative state senator is responding to those changes
In Sunday's Washington Post, Jacob Bogage reported in Home insurers cut natural disasters from policies as climate risks grow:
In the aftermath of extreme weather events, major insurers are increasingly no longer offering coverage that homeowners in areas vulnerable to those disasters need most.
At least five large U.S. property insurers — including Allstate, American Family, Nationwide, Erie Insurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway — have told regulators that extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have led them to stop writing coverages in some regions, exclude protections from various weather events and raise monthly premiums and deductibles. . . .
Hurricane Idalia brought severe flooding to Georgia and the Carolinas, and tore through parts of Florida that had never experienced direct hits from a major storm. Tropical Storm Hilary caused $600 million in damage on the West Coast, according to Karen Clark & Co., a leading catastrophe modeling firm. The fires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, whose cause is still under investigation, led to $3.2 billion in property damage, the firm said.
Those catastrophes, insurance industry insiders said, show just how quickly claims costs are escalating in the face of climate change.
U.S. insurers have disbursed $295.8 billion in natural disaster claims over the past three years, according to international risk management firm Aon. That’s a record for a three-year period, according to the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
Natural catastrophes in the first six months of 2023 year in the United States caused $40 billion in insured losses, the third costliest first-half on record, Aon found.
“There’s no place to hide from these severe natural disasters,” said David Sampson, president of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. “They’re happening all over the country and so insurers are having to relook at their risk concentration. . . .
Insurance markets, especially those that serve many regions across the country, rely on relatively stable risk projections when it comes to natural disasters. By balancing wildfire risk during the late spring in the Pacific Northwest with hurricanes in the early fall in the Southeast and winter storms in the Upper Midwest, insurers can spread risk across constituencies. In theory, providers can collect monthly premiums from a broad clientele without paying out claims on too many large-scale disasters at once.
But weather patterns are changing as the planet warms. . . .
The variability in weather patterns means insurance companies can no longer rely on the previous risk projections that helped them make decisions. . . .
So how does that play in sunny Minnesota?
Last month, Gordon Severson reported for KARE11 in How recent natural disasters could affect our insurance rates:
It's true the Midwest doesn't see hurricanes or earthquakes, and the region doesn’t typically see massive wildfires that burn thousands of acres of land, but the region does see a lot of tornadoes and hail.
"Hail is the most devastating thing that most insurance companies face,” Cocking says.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, Minnesota ranked third in the nation for hail storms last year with 387 of them.
Minnesota was also fourth for tornadoes with 77.
Those high rankings come with a cost.
According to Bankrate, Minnesota ranks 11th in the nation for homeowners insurance with an average cost of nearly $1,930.
When you take into consideration household income and how much people make per year, Bankrate says Minnesota actually ranks even higher with the fourth-highest premiums in the country.
"Storms that normally would have occurred every 100 years, or every 50 years, are now occurring every 25 years or every 10 years. Now that those storms have become more frequent, the price to cover the losses from those storms has to be accounted for." . . .
Gruenhagen as climate change denier
Will those changes in the insurance industry change Glenn's mind?
He does seem fairly set in his thinking. There's even a section in his Wikpedia profile (with material from his House career):
Gruenhagen has called climate change "a complete United Nations fraud and lie" and claimed that those who believe in it believe that exhalation causes global warming.[5] In a January 2021 committee hearing, he said that 97% of scientists believe in climate change only because of "lies and indoctrination".[6] A few months later, he attempted to amend a large House climate and energy bill to redefine wind power and solar power as "dirty, inefficient and expensive".[7]
And in April, during session, the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus posted Gruenhagen Newsletter: Global Cooling- The Reality of Climate Change, which read in part:
One of the most consequential and harmful lies that has been spread over the last several decades is the lie of human-caused global warming.
The effort has spread beyond a simple word of caution for humanity, misplaced though it was. It has evolved into an effort to control virtually every aspect of our lives – from the energy we use, to the food we eat, to the cars we drive. They even want to control the types of lawn equipment and water bottles we can use.
Those who dare to call out the mainstream narrative for what it is – a myth – are ostracized and canceled.
But facts are facts, and this terrific video explains the reality of what we are experiencing: https://vimeo.com/816266387.
The Earth’s climate is getting colder and dryer due to natural cycles driven by the sun. Researchers analyzed climate going back to 600 BC and identified cycles of 100, 170, 515, and 1030 years. They predicted extreme weather around the year 2000, followed by a cold turn and drought, which is what we are seeing currently.
The sun is the main driver of our climate, we cannot change that. If you want to know the future, look to the past. It is much more instructive than computer models.
Unfortunately, Global warming is a lucrative industry. Politicians and interest groups will continue to exploit the global warming narrative to further their agendas, manipulate public opinion, and exert control. Powerful interests have a stake in elevating the global warming myth and suppressing dissenting voices. We must continue to fight back and spread the message of truth.
Well okay then. Perhaps a real journalist could look into it. Note: the bills on mowers and water bottles didn't receive hearings last spring.
Photo: Minnesota State Senator Glenn Gruenhagen. From the header for Gruenhagen Newsletter: Global Cooling- The Reality of Climate Change. from the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus.
Related posts
- In latest letter, Gruenhagen denies backing conspiracy theories, promotes "Absolute Truth"
- Glenn Gruenhagen shares information about farmer drought relief he voted against twice
- LCCMR debate, pt. 3: Watch freshman legislator react to Gruenhagen's climate change denial
- Watch climate change deniers Glenn Gruenhagen & Eric Lucero own the libs on climate grief
- MN Eagle Forum gives Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen award for fighting godless infidels and stuff
- A curious sidenote about environment, climate change & the Minnesota Values Agenda,
- What will Gruenhagen say? Soybean Growers finger climate change for yucky MN River water
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