Committee hears HB 1516 to study insurance barriers for permanently affordable homeownership units

House Bill 1516 would require the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) to study how projects that develop permanently affordable homeownership units might use different insurance coverage options or approaches to reduce costs tied to condominium construction‑defect liability while maintaining access to appropriate coverage.

Megan Mulvihill, committee staff, said the bill responds to a 2024 OIC report that identified three drivers of high insurance costs: overall market conditions for property and casualty insurance, property characteristics of affordable housing, and perceived risk profiles of housing providers serving extremely low‑income households. HB 1516 would direct OIC to consult nonprofit and government housing providers, insurers and associations, gather relevant findings from studies issued on or after Dec. 31, 2017, and deliver a report to the legislature by Dec. 31, 2025 that includes an actuarial analysis of how condominium construction‑defect liability risk pools for nonprofit and government entities may differ from other condominium production and ownership models.

Rory Payne Donovan of…