Hawaiʻi Moves Against Big Oil

Home insurance in Hawaii is entering a period of acute instability, with premiums surging and policies vanishing altogether. In response, state lawmakers are advancing legislation designed to shift part of the mounting financial burden of climate-fuelled disasters from ordinary households to the world’s largest oil and gas corporations.

Last year, the Legislature adopted a first-of-its-kind resolution urging property insurers to pursue major fossil fuel producers through the courts to recover climate-related losses rather than transferring costs directly to policyholders. The pressure on homeowners has been stark. Between 2025 and 2026, many residents have reported premium increases of 50 per cent or more. At the same time, insurers have dramatically curtailed coverage. Non-renewals more than tripled between 2018 and 2023, leaving thousands scrambling for alternatives.

In February, State Senator Jarrett Keohokalole advanced Senate Bill 3000 from committee. The measure would empower Attorney General Anne Lopez to seek damages from major oil and gas corporations for their alleged contribution to the rising costs of insuring property after severe weather events intensified by climate change. Proponents liken the approach to landmark litigation against Big Tobacco in the 1990s and against Big Pharma during the opioid crisis.

Any recovered funds would support two key state mechanisms: the Hawaiʻi Property Insurance Association, which provides coverage for homeowners unable to secure private policies, and the Hawaiʻi Hurricane Relief Fund, a financial backstop for condominium insurance.

The urgency of reform has intensified following the catastrophic 2023 wildfires in Lahaina on the island of Maui. The fires claimed more than 100 lives and generated over $2 billion in insured losses. Maui County now faces an estimated $7 billion recovery bill, while Hawaiian Electric has proposed rate increases to fund wildfire mitigation efforts.

A snapshot of the crisis illustrates the scale of the challenge:

Supporters of SB 3000 argue that while multiple factors contributed to the devastation, record-breaking winds and severe drought conditions — consistent with a warming climate — significantly worsened the disaster’s impact. They contend that major fossil fuel companies were aware as early as the 1970s that their products would intensify extreme weather, yet publicly downplayed the risks while obstructing policy reforms.

Hawaiʻi is not alone in exploring legal remedies. Lawmakers in California and New York are advancing similar proposals granting attorneys general expanded authority to pursue polluters for climate-related damages.

For many residents, the issue is not abstract but immediate and personal. As insurance premiums rise and coverage options shrink, the costs of recovery and adaptation increasingly fall on working families in a state already burdened by the highest cost of living in the United States.

Advocates maintain that without structural change, households will continue to shoulder the financial consequences of climate disasters. The proposed litigation strategy represents an effort to redefine who ultimately pays for the escalating risks associated with a warming world — and whether those most responsible for emissions should bear a greater share of the cost.