Desperate to cope with rising insurance costs from natural disasters, some state legislatures are opening up new avenues of attack to force oil companies to bear the costs of climate change.
Democratic lawmakers in three states have introduced bills this Congress that would allow insurance companies and state attorneys general to take action against oil companies to offset soaring insurance premiums.
None of the measures passed this session, but they signal a growing sense of urgency in a state where wildfires, floods and other disasters have caused premiums to soar and some insurers have stopped writing new policies.
The proposal follows other state-led efforts to require fossil fuel producers to pay for the increasing damage caused by climate change. State and local governments have filed more than 30 lawsuits accusing companies of violating laws over the industry’s role in the climate crisis. Various laws such as consumer protection, public nuisance, failure to warn, fraud, and extortion.
Climate disasters are on the rise. These states want to make oil companies pay.
Meanwhile, a handful of states have passed or introduced “climate superfund” bills that use a new field of research, attribution science, to calculate the costs of disasters and charge fossil fuel companies for their roles in causing them.
These efforts have sparked fierce opposition and legal challenges from oil companies and conservative groups.
Now, some Democrats are trying to use a similar premise to corner big oil companies with a burgeoning insurance crisis.
Property and casualty insurance costs are rising in many states as insurance companies pay out more claims for wildfires, hurricanes and floods. Some insurance companies have stopped writing policies in certain areas.
California and some other places are seeing a surge in new sign-ups for state-backed “last resort” insurance plans after residents are unable to find coverage on the private market. California’s program, known as the FAIR Plan, suffered billions of dollars in losses and called for significant rate hikes in the wake of the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.
a invoice In California, it would give the state’s attorney general the power to sue fossil fuel companies to recover insurance costs. The bill failed to pass out of committee last month due to opposition from Republicans and some Democrats. express concern Especially regarding fuel prices.
a invoice In Hawaii, insurance companies will be allowed to seek damages from fossil fuel companies for their role in causing disasters exacerbated by climate change. Revenues collected from actions against polluters would be included in insurance premiums.
The bill passed both houses of Congress, but could not move forward after a conference committee ran out of time to meet a deadline earlier this month. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
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“The largest oil and gas companies knowingly contributing to the drought that exacerbated Maui’s wildfires are paying reparations.” They continue to rake in billions of dollars in profits every year and do nothing,” the Democratic senator said. Jarrett Keokaroll wrote on Honolulu Civil Beat Editorial. “Hawaii’s taxpayers should not be made to pay for Big Oil’s deception.”
Meanwhile, similar invoice New York has introduced a bill that would allow both insurance companies and the state attorney general to sue oil companies over insurance costs, but it has not yet had a committee hearing.
Like other legislation targeting the fossil fuel industry, the insurance bill faces fierce opposition and strong lobbying. If passed, the proposal would undoubtedly face litigation. Fossil fuel companies have long argued that they follow a series of federal regulations to extract and sell their products and shield themselves from state harm claims.
States countered that the companies knew about the dangers of climate change but lied to the public, pointing to successful campaigns to hold tobacco companies accountable for deception even though their products were legally sold.
Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at: (email protected).
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