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I would assume that earthquake insurance in japan is a reasonable model for "world insurance". It looks like it's a reinsurance program: https://www.mof.go.jp

I would assume that earthquake insurance in japan is a reasonable model for "world insurance". It looks like it's a reinsurance program: https://www.mof.go.jp/english/policy/financial_system/earthquake_insurance/outline_of_earthquake_insurance.html https://www.mof.go.jp/english/policy/financial_system/earthq... So, I think the answer is "no".

tzs 2y ago
Japan is probably not a good comparison for home insurance because houses in Japan typically only have a 20 to 30 year lifespan. After that they are usually torn down and a new house is built.
- Over2Chars 2y ago
  Its a country built on seismically active volcanoes. If there's earthquake insurance in japan, it should be do-able. "In and around Japan, one-tenth of earthquakes in the world occur. " https://geoscienceletters.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40562-017-0069-4 https://geoscienceletters.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/...
  - klodolph 2y ago
    Home values in Japan are somewhat anomalous. There are some good policies that contribute to this, but also other factors that make me reluctant to generalize from Japan. It’s a country with declining natural population, where houses are assets that rapidly decline in value to the point where they’re nearly worthless not that long after you buy them. Average home age in Japan is 30 years. I think, maybe once or twice, I’ve lived in a building less than 30 years old in the US. I’ve spent most of my life in buildings built pre-war. There aren’t so many pre-war buildings in Japan, but the US takes the blame for that one :-(
    - Over2Chars 2y ago
      The topic was "is the world becoming uninsurable?" with some climate-panic being implied, oh gosh. If a country with 1/10th of the worlds seismic activity can have (earthquake) insurance, then well dammit, I think it can be done. Insurance, afaict, is just gambling, and well darnit you can gamble on anything. The odds might be terrible, but there's ways of hedging your bets I've heard. I am not a gambler.
- _yb2s 2y ago
  Why would anyone tear down a 20 year old house? Where I live the houses are 80-100 years old and they’re better built and nicer to live in than most newer homes.
  - skywhopper 2y ago
    You could Google it and find out.
    - _yb2s 2y ago
      I could but I won’t… do you think I asked that question because I urgently need accurate data on Japanese housing? Why does anyone join forums, or discuss things with friends in real life when they could just Google things?
    - tenebrisalietum 2y ago
      Retire this meme. Google sucks now.
      - Over2Chars 2y ago
        now?
  - Macha 2y ago
    The traditional materials used in Japanese construction of everyday homes aren't really in the "built to last" category: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1DP5xpM3Y8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1DP5xpM3Y8 . In some cases, trying to make a house that was resistant to floods, fires and earthquakes at the same time would have been prohibitively expensive. I'm sure that led to forming habits that have continued into more modern eras of building styles where it's less required. They're also smaller, which makes construction costs cheaper which means people are more likely to make dramatic changes when fashion changes. And then there's more of a culture of prefab house building rather than extensions etc. Planning is also a lot more liberal which allows the rebuilt house to be more different and also reduces the cost of the process. I think even in Europe some of the older houses are houses of theseus though. The exterior shell is the same, but there's plenty of buildings in the local city centre that were tenements, then small business offices, then apartments, with significant remodeling that occurred. Or the house I used to live in was built in the 1880s, extended in the 1950s and significantly modernised in the 2000s. Each time there would have involved largely gutting the interior and rebuilding.

tzs 2y ago

Japan is probably not a good comparison for home insurance because houses in Japan typically only have a 20 to 30 year lifespan. After that they are usually torn down and a new house is built.

Over2Chars 2y ago
Its a country built on seismically active volcanoes. If there's earthquake insurance in japan, it should be do-able. "In and around Japan, one-tenth of earthquakes in the world occur. " https://geoscienceletters.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40562-017-0069-4 https://geoscienceletters.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/...
- klodolph 2y ago
  Home values in Japan are somewhat anomalous. There are some good policies that contribute to this, but also other factors that make me reluctant to generalize from Japan. It’s a country with declining natural population, where houses are assets that rapidly decline in value to the point where they’re nearly worthless not that long after you buy them. Average home age in Japan is 30 years. I think, maybe once or twice, I’ve lived in a building less than 30 years old in the US. I’ve spent most of my life in buildings built pre-war. There aren’t so many pre-war buildings in Japan, but the US takes the blame for that one :-(
  - Over2Chars 2y ago
    The topic was "is the world becoming uninsurable?" with some climate-panic being implied, oh gosh. If a country with 1/10th of the worlds seismic activity can have (earthquake) insurance, then well dammit, I think it can be done. Insurance, afaict, is just gambling, and well darnit you can gamble on anything. The odds might be terrible, but there's ways of hedging your bets I've heard. I am not a gambler.
_yb2s 2y ago
Why would anyone tear down a 20 year old house? Where I live the houses are 80-100 years old and they’re better built and nicer to live in than most newer homes.
- skywhopper 2y ago
  You could Google it and find out.
  - _yb2s 2y ago
    I could but I won’t… do you think I asked that question because I urgently need accurate data on Japanese housing? Why does anyone join forums, or discuss things with friends in real life when they could just Google things?
  - tenebrisalietum 2y ago
    Retire this meme. Google sucks now.
    - Over2Chars 2y ago
      now?
- Macha 2y ago
  The traditional materials used in Japanese construction of everyday homes aren't really in the "built to last" category: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1DP5xpM3Y8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1DP5xpM3Y8 . In some cases, trying to make a house that was resistant to floods, fires and earthquakes at the same time would have been prohibitively expensive. I'm sure that led to forming habits that have continued into more modern eras of building styles where it's less required. They're also smaller, which makes construction costs cheaper which means people are more likely to make dramatic changes when fashion changes. And then there's more of a culture of prefab house building rather than extensions etc. Planning is also a lot more liberal which allows the rebuilt house to be more different and also reduces the cost of the process. I think even in Europe some of the older houses are houses of theseus though. The exterior shell is the same, but there's plenty of buildings in the local city centre that were tenements, then small business offices, then apartments, with significant remodeling that occurred. Or the house I used to live in was built in the 1880s, extended in the 1950s and significantly modernised in the 2000s. Each time there would have involved largely gutting the interior and rebuilding.