Advocacy Groups Push for FIO to Release Critical Home Insurance Data

A coalition of advocacy groups, including Public Citizen, Consumer Federation of America, and the Sierra Club, is pressing the Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) to release homeowners insurance data collected by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The data, intended to assess the availability and affordability of coverage nationwide, remains unpublished, prompting concerns about transparency and accountability.

The FIO initially planned to collect climate-related insurance data directly but deferred to NAIC following pushback from industry groups. Now, with calls to dissolve the FIO emerging, advocates stress the urgency of public access to this information. They argue that the data is essential to understanding and mitigating the growing insurance challenges linked to climate change, particularly in vulnerable communities.

Jessica Garcia, a senior policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, highlights the risk of lost progress if the data remains unpublished. Carly Fabian of Public Citizen echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the need for comprehensive insights into systemic risks and the insurance crisis unfolding across the nation.

Critics of FIO’s earlier data collection proposals had labeled them overly burdensome for insurers. However, advocacy groups maintain that the FIO was established to address gaps in state-based insurance regulation, particularly in analyzing systemic risks and impacts on marginalized populations.