11+ hour, 31+ min ago (1186+ words) MARTHA'S VINEYARD " Among the decades-old cottages and whimsical "gingerbread houses" of Martha's Vineyard, a storm has been gathering. It's not the kind that tears buildings to splinters or floods low-lying neighborhoods, but it threatens homes all the same. Insurers are deserting homeowners on the island at rates comparable to the hardest-hit parts of hurricane-prone Florida and wildfire-ravaged California, putting residents at risk of losing the coverage they depend on. New England is not often thought to be on the front lines of the climate-driven insurance crisis. Yet from Connecticut to Maine, coastal communities are flashing warning signs: premiums climbing at dizzying rates and scores of policies abruptly dropped. Climate change has fueled an unprecedented rise in costly disasters, making it one of the biggest financial threats to insurers. Over the last five years alone, New England has suffered more than…...