Thom Amdur’s Post

Insurance costs are rising due to extreme weather, high home prices, and other factors. This trend is having a significant impact on housing affordability, affecting homeowners and renters across the nation.   Yesterday, industry experts gathered at the Bipartisan Policy Center to discuss the challenges and potential solutions at the state and federal levels.   Emma Waters explored this issue in a recent blog where she outlined how rising insurance premiums, driven by an increase in natural disasters and a competitive housing market, are making it harder for families to afford homes. She also looked at the broader implications for housing stability and economic security.   The conversation emphasized that collaboration between policymakers, industry stakeholders, and communities is crucial to develop effective measures that can mitigate these rising costs. https://lnkd.in/gypFp_gy

The housing world doesn’t need another problem, but it has one: insurance. The insurance scene is changing, and property insurers are either capping the number of policies they write, are stricter in underwriting, are refusing to write new policies altogether, are fleeing completely, or are raising rates. California and Florida (and sometimes Texas) seem to be the worst hit, and their home-insurance markets can feel dysfunctional, but as the severity of extreme weather events escalate, it’ll only magnify across the country. And landlords are obviously worried. More details here: https://lnkd.in/gHjTNFxA #multifamily #realestate

Total Landlord Insurance has updated their guide to the Renters (Reform) Bill and highlighted some of the amendments made. I have done a short video, explaining what happens next. Click here - https://lnkd.in/e-KYwraa The Bill has now been presented to UK House of Lords, with its First Reading being on 1st May and the order for it to be printed agreed. The publication can be seen here - https://lnkd.in/gdcXvsii We await the date of the Second Reading, where we will find out what the Peers think of the proposals and what likely amendments may be put forward. #landlords #lettingagents #propertymanagers #propertymanagement #tenants

Fascinating piece by Keith Cooper on the rising costs of insurance within the social and local authority housing stock within Inside Housing this week. The article is well balanced and pulls out the impact this is having on individuals and organisations. The stark reality facing landlords is that we are legally required to ensure the buildings and rightly so. Yet in delivering on this due to the current environment it is common place that landlords are passing on sizeable increases in costs to leaseholders and shared owners. ARMA figures of 370% average increases along with the fact Leeds City Council required Ft-T dispensation to be compliant showcases just how challenging things are for all involved. There is work going on as outlined to support the emergence of more competition though more is needed short and long term to facilitate value for money across the board. https://lnkd.in/e8vRtxUZ #socialhousing #housingmanagment

Read about how increasing insurance costs are affecting the development of low-income housing across the country: "Less attention, though, has been paid to rental housing, particularly for low and moderate income people. Unlike market-rate apartment developers, those building multifamily projects financed by subsidies and tax credits do not have the ability to simply pass on those higher insurance costs to tenants, since they are limited by government guidelines as to how much rent they can collect." https://lnkd.in/dS6cKCJk

Agents: All homeowners should brace themselves for sticker shock next time their homeowners policy is up for renewal. Inflation’s effects on the construction industry and the broader economy extend to premiums charged on insurance policies. MORE >> https://loom.ly/AACCcZM #InsurancePros #InsuranceMatters #HomeownersInsurance #Homeowners

Check out my latest blog about Homeowner's Fall Preparedness.

The 2022 floods in the Australian states of Queensland, NSW, and Victoria are symptomatic of a critical issue the country faces: the delicate balancing act between insurance affordability for consumers and the management of increasing losses for insurers and reinsurers. The floods were Australia's costliest natural catastrophe to date, with AU$4.09bn (US$2.65bn) in claims, including 160,000 building claims, according to data from the Insurance Council of Australia. The importance, and need, for ongoing, sustainable insurance solutions is clear. But while the industry faced intense scrutiny during a recent four-week public enquiry, which focused on the industry's response time to 2022 flood claims, it also underlined the reality of the task insurers and policyholders are facing when it comes to insurance affordability, amid other cost-of-living pressures. The Actuaries Institute published a report last August which indicates 12% of households in Australia are “affordability stressed,” measured as those that spend more than one month’s worth of gross household income on home insurance. While short-term measures, like Australia's cyclone reinsurance pool, offer relief they fall short of addressing the core issue. Long-term strategies, including a focus on risk reduction and improved modelling, are needed to strike a delicate balance between protecting consumers and managing insurance losses. But it's clear these strategies - and the broader issue of insurance affordability - can't be solved by the insurance industry alone. Blake Evans-Pritchard's latest feature, on the difficult dynamic that Australia faces, includes expert industry insight from: - Finity Consulting's Sharanjit Paddam - Allianz Australia's Nicholas S. Scofield GAICD - Munich Re's Roland Eckl - RMS's Steffi Uhlemann-Elmer. Read the full insight here: https://lnkd.in/gg69GxQH #insurance #australia #costofliving

David W. Chen did some great reporting on the insurance market and its impact on Affordable Housing nationwide. There is some legitimate debate about how best to fix it but there is no debate about the magnitude of the problems and the impact it is having on those that need it the most. Change is required if we are going to keep producing affordable housing. This situation will not fix itself without action https://lnkd.in/ezEmQsWF

I've been seeing a lot of posts on this recently and being in Florida this is a highly problematic issue. It has really impacted valuations as premiums have risen incredibly over the last 12-24 months. Where do you think things are headed in 2024? #multifamilyrealestate #commercialrealestate #apartmentinvesting #commercialinsurance