Hurricane areas in insurance crisis

Homeowners and businesses are finding it harder to afford, or even obtain, insurance in coastal states after catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina, and global warming is going to make the situation worse, according to a report released Friday by a nonprofit environmental advocacy group.

Insurance companies faced with record claims after recent active hurricane seasons and predictions of more destructive storms ahead are reducing their risks by walking away from hurricane-prone areas in states along the Southeast coast and Gulf of Mexico or dramatically raising premiums, Environmental Defense found.

The report, "Blown Away," examines financial consequences to homeowners, businesses, governments and taxpayers in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Virginia.

Georgia State University's Robert Klein, director of the Center for Risk Management and Insurance Research, found that insurance premiums nationwide have risen an average 46.3 percent over the past five years.