Study Suggests Insurance Access Not Equal

By Bud Lowell

Rochester, NY – A study by the Empire Justice Center raises the possibility people living in neighborhoods with significant minority populations or high vacancy rates might not have adequate access to homeowner's insurance.

Attorney Barbara van Kerkhove from the center's Rochester office says they've been trying for years to find out if an insurance disparity exists. They figured out a way to do it by studying who applies for the FAIR program.

That stands for Fair Access to Insurance Requirements, and it's a government plan known as the insurance of last resort for homeowners who can't get a policy on the private market.

Van Kerkhove says they found a lot more people applying for FAIR insurance in neighborhoods with high vacancy rates -- but they also found something else: an apparent disparity along color lines, with more Black and Hispanic home buyers turning to FAIR.

Van Kerkhove says FAIR policies tend to provide less coverage and cost more than policies from private insurance companies. That makes home ownership less affordable for lower income people.

She says if insurance companies are deliberately providing less access to people from minority communities, that could be a violation of the Fair Housing Act.
She also says there's no way to tell if that's happening without a disclosure law for insurance companies similar to the laws governing mortgage lenders.