"US Treasury Drops Plan to Collect Insurer Data on Climate Risks"

"The US government is stepping away from its effort to collect data on home insurance prices and availability at the Zip code level as premiums soar and climate risks to property intensify. Instead, it will join in a collaborative effort with state insurance regulators.

When the Treasury Department announced in October 2022 its plans to collect such information through the Federal Insurance Office, it said detailed information on premiums and policy non-renewals and cancellations was needed to understand which geographical areas could be subject to “major disruptions” in insurance coverage due to climate change.

The insurance industry opposed the move, saying that collecting the data would be a huge drain on companies’ resources and manpower. Republicans in Congress agreed, and GOP members of the House of Representatives introduced a bill to eliminate the FIO.

Now, even though the agency had already asked and recently received permission from the Office of Management and Budget to make its own request for data, FIO will instead get data from state insurance commissioners — who regulate the private market — and their trade organization, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners."

Leslie Kaufman reports for Bloomberg March 8, 2024.

Source: Bloomberg, 03/11/2024