Setting insurance rates by looking to the past to predict the future doesn’t make sense with increasing environmental uncertainties, argues the California insurance industry.

Ry Rivard reports that insurance companies in California are arguing that the "new normal" of climate change is altering the insurance landscape. "Near the top of the industry’s wish list is a wonky request: Let insurers set premiums based on the risk of fires that could burn someday soon."
The current approach is to use past losses to predict future ones. But many of the most catastrophic events have happened fairly recently and the frequency and severity of disasters will likely increase in the future. “Since the 1980s, insurers have used increasingly sophisticated computer models to prepare for hurricanes and earthquakes. The California Earthquake Authority, a government-run insurer, uses catastrophe models to set rates, as does a similar effort in Florida to provide hurricane insurance,” writes Rivard.
Critics say that allowing insurers to set rates based on catastrophe models would limit transparency, and they contend that the models do not accurately predict future risks, notes Rivard. "Regulators worry the models aren’t credible, and that they’re a 'black box' and could be used to overcharge consumers."
FULL STORY: Insurance Companies Say They're Not Allowed to Plan for the ‘New Normal’ of Intense Wildfires

Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.

Car Noise Is Killing Us
It’s not just traffic collisions that kill—a new study from researcher at Rutgers finds that the loud noises emanating from cars has direct impact on heart health in Americans.

Acceptable Deaths
What can we learn from our Covid response?

Redevelopment Threatens Iconic, Affordable Chicago Homes
The ‘workers’ cottages’ are being replaced with larger, more expensive homes, threatening one of the city’s original forms of affordable housing.

Six-Story Parking Lot Nixed From D.C. Union Station Renovation Plans
The Federal Railroad Administration has removed a six-story parking facility included in a 2020 draft Environmental Impact Statement for a $10 billion renovation of Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Newark Working to Stem the Tide of Wall Street Investors in the Residential Market
A new study by researchers at Rutgers University reveals the scale of Wall Street’s reach into the Newark, New Jersey, housing market—LLCs and private equity accounted for 47 percent of residential real estate transactions from 2017 to early 2020.
City of Malibu
EMC Planning Group Inc.
Jefferson Parish
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Rohnert Park
City of Hot Springs
City of Lakeway, Texas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.