They has some success with backfires in that area today, so they are in better shape than anyone to the North and Northeast which seem to be the current direction of the expansion.

OT: I sent you a reply about the picture. That is exactly what the Whittier piece is talking about in this post.

In as much as they decided to become insurance companies of their own free will, and can stop being insurance companies whenever they wish, that they continue to take money for a service they avoid providing enters into the world of fraud.

I agree, some things need to be spread over the widest possible population, and catastrophic insurance is one of them. We already end up paying for people who aren’t insured, or whose insurance doesn’t pay out, in one way or another, so we should formalize reality and set up a working program. Flood Insurance is a good model, because people are somewhat familiar with it, just like Medicare is a good model for health insurance.

can’t blame them for that. i wouldn’t like those risks either. which is why i’m a blogger and a crazy cat lady instead of an insurance company.

i can see some limited uses for insurance companies, but for just plain pooling fairly predictable [on a population level or long time scale] big risks — health care, natural disasters, etc — looks like we’re better off nationalizing it and doing it ourselves.

we know we’re going to have hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, crop failures, sick people… that are going to have measurable impacts. giving money to gamblers to play with in hopes that they’ll give it back to us when we need it isn’t working out.

I assume that in no time the homeowners’ insurance in California will go the same route as the wind insurance on the Gulf Coast, and the government will have to step in to provide it. The first step will be a separate “wildfire” provision, i.e. there will be a specific rider required to get coverage. In no time there will be a need for National Wildfire Insurance and National Hurricane Insurance and National Earthquake Insurance, just like National Flood Insurance.

The insurance companies don’t like the risks involved with being insurance companies.

For the 2007–2009 fire seasons, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger authorized a contract for exclusive use of the aircraft at a cost of $5 million per year, or an average of about $41,000 per day for the June 15 to October 15 fire season; there is an additional $5,500 per-flight-hour charge.

a pretty penny. and a pretty plane too.

the taddeo links are dead now, but with your fire updates and all the katrina coverage, i’ve been mulling over the subject recently.