A 9015: Establishes the insurance and housing task force to ensure the availability of affordable housing and affordable housing insurance.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9015 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY August 27, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. TORRES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Insurance AN ACT to amend the financial services law, in relation to establishing the insurance and housing task force to ensure the availability of affordable housing and affordable housing insurance The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings and purpose. The Legislature finds 2 that owners and developers of affordable housing and multifamily housing 3 in New York face steep insurance costs and reduced availability across 4 property and liability lines. A 2022 study by the Department of Finan- 5 cial Services and Division of Homes and Community Renewal documented 6 access problems for affordable developments. A 2024 policy review found 7 sharp premium growth and reduced limits for New York affordable housing. 8 Federal analysis links higher loss experience to higher risk areas. 9 The purpose of this act is to establish an interagency task force that 10 will ensure the availability of affordable housing and affordable hous- 11 ing insurance and assess market conditions for housing insurance, iden- 12 tify actions to improve availability and pricing, and recommend statuto- 13 ry, regulatory, and program changes. 14 § 2. The financial services law is amended by adding a new section 208 15 to read as follows: 16 § 208. Insurance and housing task force. (a) Establishment. The super- 17 intendent shall establish an insurance and housing task force for the 18 purpose of ensuring the availability of affordable housing and assessing 19 market conditions for housing insurance, identifying actions to improve 20 availability and pricing, and recommending statutory, regulatory, and 21 program changes. 22 (b) Membership. The task force shall consist of: (1) the superinten- 23 dent, or the superintendent's designee, who shall serve as co-chair; (2) 24 the commissioner of homes and community renewal, or the commissioner's EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13655-01-5 
 A. 9015 2 1 designee, who shall serve as co-chair; (3) one representative of the New 2 York property insurance underwriting association; (4) one representative 3 of the excess line association of New York; (5) two representatives of 4 admitted insurers that write commercial property or liability insurance 5 for multifamily housing; (6) one representative of a reinsurer active in 6 the New York market; (7) three housing stakeholders, which shall include 7 one affordable housing owner, developer, or resident, one mission-driven 8 lender or investor, and one municipal housing agency; (8) one consumer 9 representative with expertise in tenant protection or fair housing; (9) 10 one representative from the New York state association for affordable 11 housing; (10) one representative from the supportive housing network of 12 New York; (11) one representative from the association for neighborhood 13 and housing development; (12) one representative from the real estate 14 board of New York; and (13) any other members the co-chairs invite for 15 specific subject-matter sessions. Members who are not co-chairs shall be 16 appointed by the co-chairs for two-year terms. 17 (c) Duties. The task force shall: 18 (1) conduct a baseline assessment of availability, pricing, coverage 19 limits, deductibles, and exclusions for property and liability insurance 20 for affordable and multifamily affordable housing in each region of the 21 state; 22 (2) assess the role of reinsurance, catastrophe exposure, and claim 23 trends in pricing and availability; 24 (3) evaluate barriers in the admitted market that shift risks to the 25 excess line market; 26 (4) review the operation of New York property insurance underwriting 27 association for multifamily risks and options to modernize products and 28 services; 29 (5) evaluate the department enforcement and market conduct tools since 30 April twentieth, two thousand twenty-four; 31 (6) identify mitigation, inspection, and safety measures that reduce 32 losses and propose incentives and rating credits; 33 (7) assess feasibility of pooled purchasing, captives, public-private 34 facilities, or loss-funding mechanisms for affordable housing; 35 (8) recommend specific statutory and regulatory changes and program 36 actions by the department, the division of homes and community renewal, 37 and other state or local entities; and 38 (9) set metrics and a timeline to track results. 39 (d) Information requests. (1) The superintendent may require data and 40 information from insurers and the New York property insurance underwrit- 41 ing association under section three hundred eight of the insurance law 42 for purposes of the task force. 43 (2) Data that qualifies as a trade secret or that would cause substan- 44 tial competitive injury shall be treated as confidential under paragraph 45 (d) of subdivision two of section eighty-seven of the public officers 46 law. The department shall use such data in aggregate or de-identified 47 form in public reports. 48 (e) Meetings and transparency. (1) The task force shall meet at least 49 quarterly and shall hold at least two public listening sessions each 50 year in different regions. 51 (2) The task force is a public body for purposes of the open meetings 52 law. The co-chairs may convene an executive session solely to receive 53 confidential data as permitted by law. 54 (f) Reports and deliverables. (1) Within nine months of the effective 55 date of this section, the task force shall publish an interim report 56 with findings and initial recommendations. 
 A. 9015 3 1 (2) Within eighteen months of the effective date of this section, the 2 task force shall publish a final report that lists recommended actions, 3 identifies lead entities, sets deadlines, and proposes any needed appro- 4 priations. 5 (3) The department shall publish an annual dashboard that tracks key 6 indicators and progress on recommendations. 7 (g) Staff support. The department shall provide staff support in 8 consultation with the division of homes and community renewal. 9 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be 10 deemed repealed three years after such date.