Mamdani Unveils NYC Housing Cost-Cutting Insurance

New program aims to lower insurance costs for affordable and rent-stabilized housing

Apr. 17, 2026 at 4:02am

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A serene, photorealistic painting of a multi-story apartment building in New York City, with warm sunlight streaming through the windows and deep shadows casting across the facade, conveying a sense of urban nostalgia and the challenges of housing affordability.A city-backed insurance program aims to ease the burden of rising costs and preserve affordable housing in New York.NYC Today

New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced a first-of-its-kind insurance program that will reduce the cost of property and liability insurance for affordable housing and rent-stabilized housing. The program, managed by an interagency working group, aims to issue new insurance policies for 20,000 homes next year and 100,000 homes by 2030. The goal is to help address the skyrocketing cost of insurance, which has more than tripled since 2017 and is a major driver of rising housing costs in the city.

Why it matters

The soaring cost of insurance has hit affordable and rent-stabilized housing particularly hard, forcing building owners to spend more on premiums and leaving less for maintenance and repairs. This new city-backed insurance program is an attempt to tackle one of the key structural costs driving up the price of housing in New York City.

The details

The new insurance program will be self-sustaining over time and will help the City subsidize more affordable housing and support housing and property owners with rising costs. An interagency working group will manage the selection and partnership of the insurance program. Independent actuarial experts will be hired to design and launch the new insurance offering, which will begin providing coverage in 2027.

  • This week, HDC will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for an actuary or risk consultant to design the program.
  • This summer, NYCEDC will issue a Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI) to solicit proposals for how to structure and operate the insurance program.
  • By 2027, the City expects to lower the cost of insurance policies for the first 20,000 homes.
  • By 2030, new insurance policies are poised to be available to 100,000 homes.

The players

Zohran Kwame Mamdani

The Mayor of New York City who announced the new insurance program.

Leila Bozorg

The Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning in New York City.

Julie Su

The Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice in New York City.

Dina Levy

The Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).

Jeanny Pak

The Interim President & CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC).

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What they’re saying

“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.”

— Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Mayor of New York City

“The skyrocketing cost of insurance is putting affordable, rent-stabilized housing at risk and risks setting back our efforts to build a more affordable city. This groundbreaking effort will use the City's purchasing power to lower insurance premiums, helping our own investments in affordable housing go farther and reducing operating costs for owners of rent stabilized housing. This is just one step in how we're working to bring down housing costs across the board.”

— Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning

“To make New York more affordable, we have to go after the structural costs driving up the price of housing. 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.”

— Julie Su, Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice

“Soaring insurance costs are putting affordable and rent-stabilized housing at risk-this is a market failure that has gone uncorrected for too long, and it falls to government to step in. When we can lower the cost of running a building, that savings flows through to tenants. This effort is exactly the kind of bold, innovative response New Yorkers need to have access to affordable housing.”

— Dina Levy, Commissioner, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development

“By investing in a city-backed insurance program, we will be tackling the housing crisis from a new and creative angle. At NYCEDC, we are looking to use every tool in our toolbox to deliver affordable housing and are thrilled to partner with HPD and HDC to carry out this vision and make New York City more affordable.”

— Jeanny Pak, Interim President & CEO, New York City Economic Development Corporation

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This new city-backed insurance program represents a creative and much-needed solution to address the skyrocketing cost of insurance, which has become a major driver of rising housing costs in New York City. By lowering insurance premiums for affordable and rent-stabilized housing, the program has the potential to preserve existing affordable units, stretch limited public housing subsidies further, and make housing more accessible for low- and middle-income New Yorkers.