In a press release , America's largest property insurance company cited various reasons for its decision, including the high costs of doing business in California, macroeconomic factors such as inflation, and increased catastrophe exposure.

Media seized on this last item to declare the official arrival of the climate apocalypse.

"Climate shocks are making parts of America uninsurable," The New York Times observed following State Farm's announcement.

While climate change might be in the zeitgeist, there are better explanations for State Farm's exit.

Though State Farm said nothing about climate change in its press release, there's no question that California has struggled mightily with wildfires in recent years. Data collected by Policygenius show California experiences more wildfires than any other U.S. state (9,280 in 2021) and the most acreage burned (2.2 million acres).