On May 2, 2025, the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) at the U.S. Department of the Treasury hosted a roundtable discussion focused on opportunities to address the cost and availability of homeowners insurance. This event was part of the Trump administration’s efforts to implement the executive order on “Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis.”

The FIO roundtable brought together representatives from various sectors, including insurers, reinsurers, state regulators, resilience and consumer groups, and academics. NAR was among the participants, represented by Austin Perez, senior policy representative for insurance issues.

During the event, NAR highlighted a critical issue—home buyers are increasingly encountering insurance issues as a last-minute surprise during or after real estate transactions. Learning about the true insurance costs too late can cause buyers to walk away from the closing table or experience buyer’s remorse afterward, if they don’t know to expect double-digit annual rate increases in the future. Specific examples of insurance cost and availability issues were provided based on a member survey reporting from around the country.

Key Discussions:

  • Rising Insurance Costs: Many participants identified factors driving insurance costs, including building costs and inflation, high-risk development, natural disasters, state insurance and land use policies, and litigation abuse, particularly for roofs.
  • Cost and Availability Issues: Some participants noted that the insurance cost and availability issues were no longer limited to a few states but were becoming an issue in many high-risk areas across the country.
  • Public Policy Solutions: Most participants emphasized the importance of government programs to help property owners strengthen their homes against natural disasters, thereby lowering insurance costs.

Among the participants, NAR was the only organization representing homeowners and the broader real estate industry. NAR will continue to educate policymakers and advocate on behalf of its members and their clients regarding home insurance and risk mitigation policies.

Read FIO's press release.