Insurance department proposes resiliency grant program to reduce homeowners insurance costs; funding mechanism prompts industry pushback

The New Hampshire Insurance Department asked the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs subcommittee to approve enabling language for a Granite State home resiliency grant program that would provide modest grants to homeowners for risk-reducing improvements — for example, fortified roofing, structural retrofits and hazard mitigation — to reduce underwriting risk and lower the likelihood of nonrenewal or placement in surplus lines markets.

Commissioner DJ Bettencourt told the committee the program was modeled on initiatives in several states and designed to be lean and run without new staff. He said the department originally sought a $1 million allocation from insurance premium tax (IPT) revenues but finance leaders said that money was not available, so the department…