cover of episode Not Built For This #3: The Price is Wrong

Not Built For This #3: The Price is Wrong

2024/8/27
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99% Invisible

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Cape Coral, initially a middle-class paradise in Florida, is now facing an insurance crisis due to increasingly extreme weather events. Founded by the Rosen brothers, the city's extensive canal system, once its main attraction, has become a major liability in the face of rising sea levels and intense storms.
  • Cape Coral was built on drained swampland and marketed as a waterfront wonderland.
  • The city's extensive canal system, built by dredging, has increased flood risk.
  • The home given away on The Price is Right in 1961 was a marketing tool for Cape Coral.

Shownotes Transcript

Insurance companies are not climate activists, but they know more about climate risk than just about anyone. And as storms get more extreme and unpredictable a lot of insurers are running the numbers on Florida and realizing that the math just isn’t working anymore. For decades, low cost insurance helped mask the risks of living in some of the riskiest parts of the country. However a climate correction is now underway. Prices are skyrocketing. And on America’s riskiest peninsula, residents are beginning to feel climate change where it hurts—in their bank accounts.

Not Built For This) is a 6-part mini-series from 99% Invisible, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays in the 99% Invisible feed. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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