U.S. taxpayers outspend private insurers three-to-one to cover climate disruption costs. Paying for climate disruption was one of the largest non-defense discretionary budget items in 2012. Overall, the insurance industry estimates that 2012 was the second costliest year in U.S. history for climate-related disasters, with more than $139 billion in damages. But private insurers themselves only covered about 25 percent of these costs ($33 billion), leaving the federal government and its public insurance enterprises to pay for the majority of the remaining claims.
Download the full report.