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How hurricanes became a hot investment β€” Planet Money
Planet Money

How hurricanes became a hot investment

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Show Notes

A few years ago, the Jamaican government started making an unusual financial bet. It went to investors around the world asking if they'd like to wager on the chances a major hurricane would hit the island in the next couple of years.Β 

In finance terms, these kinds of wagers are called "catastrophe bonds." They're a way to get investors to share the risk of a major disaster, whether that's a Japanese earthquake, a California wildfire, or a Jamaican hurricane.Β 

This market for catastrophe has gotten really hot lately. And it’s changing the way that insurance works for all of us.Β 

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This episode was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Marianne McCune. It was engineered by Jimmy Keeley and Kwesi Lee. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez and Vito Emanuel. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

Music: Universal Music Production - β€œLagos to London,” β€œSleazy Does It,” β€œThe Sundown Set.”

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