A large part of today's natural disaster exposures has to do with shifts in weather patterns, resulting in increased frequency and severity of events. (Photo: Bloomberg) A large part of today's natural disaster exposures has to do with shifts in weather patterns, resulting in increased frequency and severity of events. (Photo: Bloomberg)

My mother raised me with the notion that it's better to be safe than sorry. While the insurance industry may live by that risk management credo, it doesn't appear to be the prevailing attitude among millions of policyholders when it comes to protecting properties against hurricanes, floods and wildfires.

Playing a 'negative lottery'

One speaker at the Insurance Information Institute's 2019 Joint Industry Forum complained that the default option for too many individuals and communities is to play a "negative lottery," figuring the odds of being devastated by a disaster are too low to worry about — or at least not high enough to change where they live or to lay out significant investments to fortify properties.

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