A new report found that Joe Lombardo’s Division of Insurance (DOI) approved up to 25% rate increases for some insurers – which will result in more than 100,000 Nevadans seeing an increase in their homeowners or renters insurance in the first half of the year. DOI blamed rising housing costs and that “natural disasters are more costly now and they are happening more often” and that “environmental risks” are causing coverage to be “less available or more expensive.” These are direct consequences of climate change and the housing affordability crisis that Joe Lombardo has exacerbated with his record of vetoing legislation designed to lower costs. 

Last legislative session, Joe Lombardo vetoed multiple bills that would have lowered the cost of housing across the state. Under Lombardo, Nevada is facing one of the toughest housing crises in the nation with eviction rates in Las Vegas being among the highest in the country and homelessness spiking as the median home price in southern Nevada reaches new records. 

In 2023, Joe Lombardo withdrew Nevada from the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of governors committed to combating climate change, and he removed Nevada’s climate action plan without offering a replacement plan of his own for well over a year. Last year, Las Vegas experienced deadly record-breaking temperatures. Despite Nevada being home to two of the fastest-warming cities in the country and Nevadans experiencing some of the worst effects of rampant wildfires and extreme heat, Lombardo continues to be unserious about the issue of climate change. 

Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Tai Sims:

“Everything is more expensive because of Joe Lombardo and the Division of Insurance approving rate increases on Nevadans while families struggle to make ends meet is a prime example of that. More than halfway through his term, Joe Lombardo owns Nevada’s worsening housing and climate crises as Nevadans are increasingly paying the price.”