In response to continued advocacy by LeadingAge and others, on December 30 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public input on insurance coverage issues and opportunities. Specifically, HUD is requesting input on increasing the resilience of residential properties to natural hazards and extreme weather, which will allow the agency to develop policies that better support housing providers in addressing climate resilience and accessing affordable insurance for their properties.
“Currently, some affordable housing properties faced with suddenly higher insurance costs report that they are coming in short-term ways, including reducing insurance coverage or cutting back on provider services,” reads the RFI, echoing LeadingAge’s recent comments to HUD on the issue. “Owners and PHAs [Public Housing Authorities] have also reported that they may have to resort to relaying capital repairs or consider the sale of properties…Additionally, financing deals for the development of new properties are becoming more difficult to pencil out or close.”
The RFI asks seven questions specifically of single and multifamily housing providers, followed by additional questions targeted at tribal communities and manufactured housing. The questions focus on financial savings resulting from risk mitigation, incentives for resilience elements at properties, and data availability for long-term success, as well as successful state and local resilience measures.
The RFI follows a recent effort by HUD to better reflect insurance cost increases in Operating Cost Adjustment Factor (OCAF) calculations, which are annual budget increases for certain HUD-assisted properties. LeadingAge applauds HUD for acknowledging the severe increases in insurance costs and the lack of insurance availability for HUD-assisted housing communities, and we will work with members to submit comments by the February 28 deadline. Reach out to Juliana Bilowich (jbilowich@leadingage.org), LeadingAge’s Director of Housing Operations and Policy, to join the effort.
Read LeadingAge’s article on the RFI here.