New Weather Insurance Product Could Offer Climate Change Relief

Carlos José Báez experienced the full brunt of Hurricane Maria when it made landfall in Puerto Rico as a catastrophic storm in 2017.

The auto paint shop owner, who lives in Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, saw his home badly damaged by Maria’s ferocious winds and rain. Despite submitting claims to his homeowner’s insurance policy for over $25,000, Báez ultimately received a payout of $11,000.

“We had a lot of property damage and insurance, but they didn’t want to pay,” Báez said in an interview in Spanish.

More than $1.6 billion in insurance claims remained unresolved more than two years after ...