Permanent Supportive Housing Providers Face Steep Insurance Hikes

Organizations that operate permanent supportive housing are faced with a steep rise in insurance rates, causing many of them to question their financial future and their ability to develop more housing and provide services for their residents.

As Robert Davis explains in Next City, “These issues have become especially pressing in states like California, Colorado, Louisiana and Florida, where insurance costs have risen significantly due to the increased risk of climate-related disasters.” Since 2019, the nation has lost over 21,000 permanent supportive housing units, while the unhoused population grew by over 200,000 people in the same period.

“Lindsay Brugger, vice president of urban resilience at the Urban Land Institute, tells Next City that many of the issues PSH providers face are emblematic of the broader issues within the insurance industry itself. Insurers are writing fewer policies in climate-disaster-prone areas, and reinsurance companies (firms that reimburse insurance companies) are also providing fewer reimbursements.” Permanent supportive housing providers are barred from passing on insurance costs to their tenants and often operate on very low margins of profit. 

Now, federal assistance programs such as HUD’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program and FEMA retrofitting grants could be discontinued under the new administration’s plan to cut government spending.