Hawaii's senate adopted a resolution directing state agencies to explore recovering climate-driven insurance losses from major fossil fuel companies.
The Hawaii State Senate adopted Senate Resolution No. 111, as amended (S.D. 1), on April 6, 2026. The resolution was sponsored by Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, Sen. Stanley Chang, Sen. Brandon Elefante, Sen. Angus McKelvey, Sen. Karl Rhoads, Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, and Sen. Glenn Wakai, all Democrats. It urges the Insurance Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the Department of the Attorney General to convene a working group to identify feasible options and mechanisms to protect the state and its residents against the effects of climate change on insurance availability and affordability.
The resolution sets out a series of legislative findings on the condition of Hawaii's insurance market. It states that climate disasters have caused widespread harm to the state and its residents, including the destruction of homes and property, loss of wages, escalating insurance costs and losses, depletion of public resources, and injuries to the health, safety, and livelihoods of residents. Property and casualty insurance providers, it continues, have been destabilized by increasingly severe climate disasters, leading to increased nonrenewal rates and premiums across the state.
That pressure extends beyond private carriers. The resolution identifies growing strain on the Hawaii Property Insurance Association, the state's residual market insurer of last resort, and on the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund, which is backed by taxpayer resources. The resolution states that access to affordable insurance is necessary for the stability and financial health of residents, and that there is a compelling state interest in preserving insurance market stability, essential coverage for property owners and lenders, and affordable housing.
On causation, the legislature takes a direct position. The resolution states that the climate disasters underlying the state's insurance crisis are the result of a coordinated deception campaign launched and orchestrated by major fossil fuel companies. These companies, the resolution states, have known for decades that their products cause global warming and increase the frequency and severity of climate disasters. Despite that knowledge, they concealed and misrepresented the associated risks, sowed confusion, and failed to warn the public of the dangers created and exacerbated by their products.
The consequence of that conduct, according to the resolution, is that insurance coverage is now harder to obtain and less affordable in the state. The legislature's position is that the costs of these climate disasters should be borne by those responsible for causing them, rather than by taxpayers, insurance policyholders, and residents harmed by the climate disasters.
The resolution draws on precedent from other industries. It references prior claims pursued by insurers and injured parties against responsible parties related to the opioid epidemic, big tobacco, and other major parties responsible for widespread damages affecting insurance premiums – efforts aimed at ensuring the burden of financial loss does not fall solely on policyholders and taxpayers. It also notes that many cities, counties, and states in the United States have filed lawsuits accusing companies in the fossil fuel industry of deceptive marketing, misleading shareholders, and culpability for climate damages.
The working group is tasked with three objectives: assessing the state's and residents' insurance exposure to extreme weather events and natural disasters that may be impacted by climate change; identifying existing mechanisms available to the state and residents for recovery; and identifying and analyzing the legal means available to the state, including the Attorney General, to seek recovery from responsible parties, including large oil and gas companies, to address insurance exposures identified by the working group.
Its membership includes the Insurance Commissioner, the Attorney General, the Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, the Chair of the House Standing Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, the Administrator of the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund, the Administrator of the Hawaii Property Insurance Association, the Director of the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, and the Chief of the Hawaii Office of Recovery and Resiliency. Interested senators and representatives, as well as experts with relevant knowledge, may be invited by the chair of the working group.
The working group is requested to share its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, with the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection and the House Standing Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2027. The working group is set to dissolve on June 30, 2027.
A senate resolution does not carry the force of law. It urges and requests action rather than mandating it. The working group's findings and any proposed legislation, however, could form the basis for future legislative or legal action – making this a resolution the insurance industry will want to track.
