How hurricanes became a hot investment

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.  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.  This market for catastrophe has gotten really hot lately. And it’s changing the way that insurance works for all of us.  Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift (https://www.planetmoneybook.com/) . /  Subscribe to Planet Money+ (https://n.pr/3HlREPz) Listen free: Apple Podcasts (http://n.pr/PM-digital) , Spotify (https://n.pr/3gTkQlR) , the NPR app (https://n.pr/3Bkb17W) or anywhere you get podcasts. Facebook (https://n.pr/3h92GwS) / Instagram (https://n.pr/3FqLuws) / TikTok (https://n.pr/3sGZdrq) / Our weekly Newsletter (https://n.pr/3zrFvUB) . 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 - “Lagos to London,” “Sleazy Does It,” “The Sundown Set.” See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy (https://www.npr.org/about-npr/1798784...)