BOSTON -- The devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the growing concerns about global warming are having a life-changing impact on coastal communities in Massachusetts.

NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported Wednesday that home insurance companies are pulling policies, saying places such as Cape Cod are too high of a risk.

Built in 1840, the Aschettinos' house in Eastham, Mass., has withstood many storms.

Michael Aschettino and his wife bought the property eight years ago and have never filed an insurance claim. One day, they got a letter from their insurer, the Hingham Mutual Group, informing them their policy was not being renewed.

"I was furious in regards to money that we had paid in here for the eight years that we've been here. Take the money and run," homeowner Paula Aschettino said.

"Insurance companies were designed to protect the people against financial loss. Instead, they're protecting themselves against financial loss, and the poor customer is picking up the loss himself," Michael Aschettino said.

It is a similar story up and down the East Coast, with homeowner insurance rates skyrocketing 20 to 100 percent and with insurance companies abruptly canceling policies where homeowners never put in a claim.

Hingham Mutual said it sent nonrenewal letters to 9,000 Cape Cod homeowners considered to have high-risk properties. The company claims premiums on its own insurance, called reinsurance, have gone up 40 to 70 percent.

A spokesman said, "It's very discouraging to pull out of that area. We're only doing it because of the economics."

The economics are rooted in models projecting the cape is due for a devastating hurricane -- models the Aschettinos don't trust.

"Those (models) are paid for by who? The insurance companies, so I question the results," Paula Aschettino said.

With a new premium that costs double the old one plus a $12,000 deductible against wind damage, Paula Aschettino said that she is fighting back. She has formed the Citizens for Homeowners Insurance Reform and has gathered 400 petition signatures demanding change in the way insurance companies do business in Massachusetts.

"If you want change for yourself, you have to put your effort out to come together, let people know how you feel and not just be accepting or grousing at the coffee shop," she said.