The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) convened a summit today to address the sharp increase in property insurance costs and the lack of available coverage affecting individuals nationwide.
“It’s become abundantly clear that the rising cost of insurance is causing harm to homeowners, renters, housing providers, and entire communities,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “Today, we took a historic step to bring all of our stakeholders together in one place so we can determine solutions to protect the people we serve and preserve and create affordable housing and lower housing costs for all.”
Acting Secretary Todman opened the summit alongside Tom Perez, Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. The keynote was a fireside chat on the future of the U.S. property insurance market, moderated by Emily Flitter from The New York Times. Panelists included former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, now President and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners; Habitat for Humanity CEO Jonathan T.M. Reckford; Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Alan McClain; and National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies President and CEO Neil Alldredge.
Over recent years, homeowners and housing providers have faced significant increases in property insurance premiums and deductibles, reductions in coverage, added requirements, and withdrawals of insurance companies from certain markets. HUD has been reviewing its policies to address industry challenges due to market trends while managing potential risks:
HUD recently updated its multifamily insurance deductibles to address rising wind and storm coverage costs, aiming to reduce expenses for owners while ensuring adequate property coverage.
HUD’s new Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) aims to protect communities from flood risk, heavy storms, increased frequency of severe weather events, changes in development patterns, and erosion.
HUD revised its methodology for calculating contract rents in Section 8 project-based rental housing to better account for rising insurance costs among property owners.
HUD clarified that Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) may appeal their Operating Fund Project Expense Level (PEL) if total operating costs exceed PEL eligibility due to increased insurance expenses.
The event featured other high-level speakers discussing resilience building, protecting affordable housing's future, and homeownership. At the summit's conclusion, Acting Secretary Todman along with senior HUD leaders including Federal Housing Commissioner Julia Gordon; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public & Indian Housing Richard J. Monocchio; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning & Development Marion McFadden; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development & Research Solomon Greene; and Acting Ginnie Mae President Sam Valverde addressed these critical issues.
For more information on HUD’s work regarding rising insurance costs or media inquiries about footage or photography from today's events should contact HUD’s Office of Public Affairs at HUDPressOffice@HUD.gov.
---
