NORWOOD – As harrowing images of homes burning to the ground come in day after day from California , Massachusetts homeowners are understandably questioning whether they are prepared and properly insured should a catastrophe hit our coast.
“There’s a ripple effect”
“Whenever you see catastrophic losses like they’re seeing in California right now, there’s going to be ramification, repercussions across the country, if not across the world,” explained local insurance agent and former chair of the Mass. Association of Insurance Agents, Patrick Dempsey of Norwood.
“That could mean rates go up for people across the country, even though it’s not happening in our backyard. It’s happening to a market that’s going to impact ours here. So, there’s a ripple effect for sure,” he said.
Dempsey explained that insurance companies are not equipped to cover sudden losses of hundreds of billions of dollars, and in a time like we’re seeing in California, they tap into their own insurance companies in the “reinsurance” industry…