Recent news articles describing discrimination by insurance companies against buildings with affordable housing in New York City were met with shock and condemnation. But for organizations like ours, which partner with mission-driven organizations to bring affordable housing to communities in need, the findings were not surprising. Such discrimination is just one aspect of the broader problem of skyrocketing costs and diminishing availability of insurance for affordable housing in New York.
This problem has been much studied. In 2022, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) released a report, mandated by New York State legislation, that analyzed the issue of high costs and the diminishing insurance marketplace. In its report, DFS describes its role under the NYS Financial Services Law as “the reduction and elimination of fraud, criminal abuse and unethical conduct by,” among other industries, over 1,700 insurance companies.