New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced a new insurance program that will reduce the cost of property and liability insurance for those in affordable and rent-stabilized housing. The program will reportedly issue new insurance policies for 20,000 homes in 2027 and 100,000 homes by 2030.

"Affordable housing can't stay affordable without reining in rising operating expenses, and no expense has risen as dramatically as the cost of insurance," Howard Slatkin, executive director, Citizens Housing and Planning Council, said in a release. "Every dollar in higher premiums is a dollar that can't be spent on maintaining affordable homes in sound condition for residents. Going on offense against these rising costs is essential to help put affordable housing on a sound financial footing and maximize the impact of the City's housing subsidies."

The selection and partnership of the insurance program will be handled by an interagency group comprised of New York City's Economic Development Corporation, Housing Development Corporation, and Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).

The program is designed to be self-sustaining over time and will help the city subsidize coverage for affordable and support housing in an area where the cost of insurance has more than tripled since 2017.

"We cannot take on the housing crisis without confronting one of the fastest-growing costs facing New Yorkers: insurance. That's why we're creating the first city-backed insurance program — to help New Yorkers stay in their homes, give building owners the support they need to make repairs, and build a city that New Yorkers can actually afford," Mamdani said in a release from the HPD.

The release states that New York City is facing an unprecedented housing crisis, and the growing cost of insurance has hit affordable and rent-stabilized housing particularly hard. They state that every $100 increase in insurance costs leads to $1,200 more in city capital spent on new transactions, so this program should also drive down city spending per home in its affordable housing programs.

"To make New York more affordable, we have to go after the structural costs driving up the price of housing," Julie Su, deputy mayor for economic justice, said in the release. "Insurance is one of those costs, and it has been rising far too fast for affordable and rent-stabilized housing to absorb. This new approach will help preserve homes, stretch scarce public resources, and protect the stability of neighborhoods across the city."

New York City plans to hire independent actuarial experts to design and launch the new insurance program, which will begin offering coverage in 2027.

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