A coalition of consumer advocates, environmental groups, and fair housing organizations is calling on the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the Treasury Department to urgently make homeowners insurance data available to the public, emphasizing that timely accessibility is crucial.
Background on Insurance Data Collection
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) had previously compiled essential nationwide insurance data.
However, earlier this year, under pressure from insurance trade associations, the FIO opted against its initial plan to collect information related to climate risks from property and casualty insurers.
Instead, the office announced it would collaborate with NAIC to gather the data and eventually offer an analysis on insurance accessibility and affordability.
Recently, several advocacy groups—including Public Citizen, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, Consumer Federation of America, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Sierra Club—voiced their growing concerns regarding the lack of transparency surrounding this data.
They pointed out that the urgency of the situation has increased, especially amidst discussions about possibly disbanding the FIO.
Carly Fabian, a senior insurance policy advocate with Public Citizen’s climate initiative, underscored the necessity of this data for understanding how climate change exacerbates the current insurance crisis faced by many homeowners across the nation.
The Importance of Data Transparency
The advocates stressed that public access to comprehensive data and analysis is vital to accurately assess the scope of the crisis.
Such transparency would allow all stakeholders to better understand the challenges at hand and strategize effectively to address risks in their communities.
They emphasized that FIO’s analysis is critical for tracking systemic risks and evaluating their impacts on marginalized populations—a point they argue is essential for recognizing emerging trends.
In October 2022, the FIO suggested instituting a regulation mandating that property and casualty insurers provide data down to the zip-code level.
This proposal faced backlash from industry groups, which argued that it imposed an unreasonable burden and was unnecessarily broad and unwarranted.
Calls for Action on Insurance Data
Jessica Garcia, a senior policy analyst for climate finance at Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, highlighted the FIO’s core purpose to bridge gaps in state-level insurance regulation through the collection and interpretation of vital data.
She warned that not making this groundbreaking nationwide data publicly accessible could seriously impede the development of community-driven solutions for the insurance crisis over the coming years.
Source: Claimsjournal.com
