The riskscapes of re/insurance

Abstract

Abstract Property catastrophe re/insurance plays a crucial yet underexplored role in the governance of disparate geographies of risk. This article extends the concept of the riskscape to the study of re/insurance in two ways. We first develop a four-part framework for understanding re/insurance markets as a series of conjoined riskscapes. Second, we apply this approach to a case study analysis of Florida’s hurricane wind re/insurance market and its restructuring after the destructive 2004/2005 hurricane seasons. Using this riskscapes framework and the Florida case, we advance a critical geographical understanding of re/insurance markets as conjunctural and open-ended political economic projects.