Advocacy Groups Ask FIO to Release Homeowners Insurance Data Collected by NAIC
A coalition of consumer, environmental, and fair housing groups have called upon the Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office to release homeowners insurance data before it may be too late.
The nationwide data was collected by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Early this year, at the urging of insurance trade associations, FIO backed off a plan to collect data on climate-related risks from property/casualty insurers. Instead, FIO said it would coordinate with NAIC to collect the data, and release an analysis of availability and affordability.
Related: Industry Trades Applaud New FIO-NAIC Partnership on Data Collection
But Public Citizen, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, Consumer Federation of America, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Sierra Club, and others said in a letter that nothing has yet been released, and the matter has become potentially more time-sensitive since there have been calls to eliminate the FIO. Carly Fabian, senior insurance policy advocate for Public Citizen’s climate program, said the data is important in understanding the climate effect on the “insurance crisis unfolding across the country.”
In the letter, the groups said “public data and analysis are necessary to evaluate the full scale of the crisis and ensure all relevant actors can understand and act accordingly to mitigate the risk in their jurisdiction.
“With a mandate to monitor the potential for systemic risks and impacts on marginalized communities, analysis from FIO is crucial to highlight emerging trends.”
FIO in October 2022 proposed the rule to have P/C insurers submit zip-code-level data, but it was criticized by industry trades who said the request was too onerous, overly broad, and unnecessary.
“Treasury’s FIO was created specifically to fill a gap in the state-based insurance regulation system by collecting and analyzing data,” said Jessica Garcia, senior policy analyst for climate finance at Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund. “If this critical, first of its kind nationwide data is not made publicly available, then FIO will have set back efforts to develop data – and community-driven solutions to the insurance crisis for years to come.”