Request for Information Regarding Resilience Measures and Insurance Coverage, 106551-106553 [2024-30936]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 249 / Monday, December 30, 2024 / Notices
better for English as a second language
students at all levels. Most feedback,
however, opposed changing the civics
test to a multiple-choice format. These
commenters stated the change:
• Would require reading
comprehension skills at a significantly
higher level of English proficiency and
reading vocabulary knowledge than is
currently required for naturalization.9
• Would require test-taking skills in
multiple choice format that is not
currently required of naturalization
applicants.10
• Would create new challenges for
adult learners because it requires a
higher level of reading ability that
cannot be met by low-literacy adults
who learn orally.11
• Would pose a barrier to those
without formal education.12
The objective of the trial was to
determine an efficient way to reduce
undue barriers 13 to taking the
naturalization test and the majority of
the feedback received revealed concerns
that the trial version of the test may
increase burdens on applicants.
Therefore, USCIS has decided to
terminate the previously proposed trial
test altogether.
III. Termination Is Immediately
Effective
The proposed trial test is terminated
effective immediately. USCIS continues
to use the current 2008 version of the
English and civics test.14
Ur M. Jaddou,
Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2024–30213 Filed 12–27–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111–97–P
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9 Id.
10 See, for example, Immigration Legal Resource
Center (IRLC), Naturalization Test Redesign (Sept.
8, 2023), https://www.ilrc.org/resources/
naturalization-test-redesign (last visited Nov 20,
2024).
11 Id.
12 Id.
13 See Executive Order 14012 (February 2, 2021),
available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/
FR-2021-02-05/pdf/2021-02563.pdf.
14 See USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12,
Citizenship and Naturalization, Part E, English and
Civics Testing and Exceptions, Chapter 2, English
and Civics Testing [12 USCIS–PM E.2], available at
https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12part-e-chapter-2 (last visited Nov. 20, 2024). See
also Study for the Test, available at https://
www.uscis.gov/citizenship/find-study-materialsand-resources/study-for-the-test (last visited Nov.
20, 2024).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
23:58 Dec 27, 2024
Jkt 265001
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR–6505–N–01]
Request for Information Regarding
Resilience Measures and Insurance
Coverage
Office of Policy Development
and Research, Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD).
ACTION: Request for information.
AGENCY:
Homeowners and housing
providers have experienced significant
increases in property insurance
premiums and deductibles in the past
several years, along with reductions in
insurance coverage, added
requirements, and withdrawals of
insurance companies from certain
markets. In July 2024, HUD convened an
insurance summit to address challenges
in the property insurance market. The
insurance summit highlighted the need
to increase property resilience to natural
hazards and to clarify the relationship
between resilience measures and costs
to property owners, including the cost
of insurance. Through this Request for
Information (RFI), HUD seeks public
input regarding how best to assess
measures to increase the resilience of
residential properties to natural hazards
and extreme weather. This information
will allow HUD to develop policies that
better support HUD’s program
participants in increasing resilience to
natural hazards, including extreme
weather, and accessing affordable
insurance for their properties.
DATES: Comment Due Date: February 28,
2025. Late-filed comments will be
considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit comments responsive
to this RFI. All submissions must refer
to the docket number and title of the
RFI. Commenters are encouraged to
identify the number of the specific
question or questions to which they are
responding. Responses should include
the name(s) of the person(s) or
organization(s) filing the comment;
however, because any responses
received by HUD will be publicly
available, responses should not include
any personally identifiable information
or confidential commercial information.
There are two methods for submitting
public comments.
1. Electronic Submission of
Comments. Interested persons may
submit comments electronically through
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
https://www.regulations.gov.
2. Submission of Comments by Mail.
Comments may be submitted by mail to
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00146
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
106551
the Regulations Division, Office of
General Counsel, Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 451
7th Street SW, Room 10276,
Washington, DC 20410–0500. HUD
strongly encourages commenters to
submit their feedback and
recommendations electronically.
Electronic submission of comments
allows the commenter maximum time to
prepare and submit a response, ensures
timely receipt by HUD, and enables
HUD to make comments immediately
available to the public. Comments
submitted electronically through the
https://www.regulations.gov website can
be viewed by other commenters and
interested members of the public.
Commenters should follow the
instructions provided on that site to
submit comments electronically.
Note: To receive consideration as public
comments, comments must be submitted
through one of the two methods specified
above. Again, all submissions must refer to
the docket number and title of the notice.
No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile
(FAX) comments are not acceptable.
Public Inspection of Public
Comments. All comments and
communications properly submitted to
HUD will be available for public
inspection and copying between 8 a.m.
and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above
address. Due to security measures at the
HUD Headquarters building, an advance
appointment to review the public
comments must be scheduled by calling
the Regulations Division at (202) 708–
3055 (this is not a toll-free number).
HUD welcomes and is prepared to
receive calls from individuals who are
deaf or hard of hearing, as well as from
individuals with speech or
communication disabilities. To learn
more about how to make an accessible
telephone call, please visit https://
www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/
telecommunications-relay-service-trs.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Todd Richardson, General Deputy
Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy
Development and Research, Department
of Housing and Urban Development,
451 7th Street SW, Room 8100,
Washington, DC 20410–0500; telephone
number 202–402–5706 (this is not a tollfree number). HUD welcomes and is
prepared to receive calls from
individuals who are deaf or hard of
hearing, as well as individuals with
speech or communication disabilities.
To learn more about how to make an
accessible telephone call, please visit
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/
telecommunications-relay-service-trs.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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106552
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 249 / Monday, December 30, 2024 / Notices
I. Background
Homeowners and housing providers
have experienced significant increases
in property insurance premiums and
deductibles in the past several years,
along with reductions in insurance
coverage, added requirements, and
withdrawals of insurance companies
from certain markets. Increased
insurance costs and the unavailability of
coverage are negatively impacting
HUD’s program participants, including
public housing authorities (PHAs),
multifamily property owners, and Tribal
communities, as well as borrowers of
FHA insured mortgages. In July 2024,
HUD convened an insurance summit to
address challenges in the property
insurance market. The insurance
summit highlighted the need to increase
property resilience to natural hazards,
including extreme weather, and to
clarify the relationship between
resilience measures and costs to
property owners, including the cost of
insurance.
Increasing insurance costs and lack of
insurance availability pose unique
challenges to HUD’s program
participants. Unlike owners who
provide market-rate housing, affordable
housing providers generally cannot pass
their insurance cost increases on to
tenants through increased rents.
Currently, some affordable housing
properties faced with suddenly higher
insurance costs report that they are
coping in short-term ways, including
reducing insurance coverage or cutting
back on providing services or amenities
to cut costs. Owners and PHAs have
also reported that they may have to
resort to delaying capital repairs or
consider the sale of properties and
further consolidation of their portfolios.
Additionally, financing deals for the
development of new properties are
becoming more difficult to pencil out or
close.
Difficulty obtaining sufficient
insurance coverage at a reasonable price
also affects both new and existing FHA
borrowers in all property types,
including site-built single family,
manufactured housing, and multifamily
housing. For existing FHA borrowers,
rising insurance costs increase monthly
housing expenses, causing financial
stress on the borrower and affecting
their ability to maintain monthly
mortgage payments. Some cash-strapped
borrowers resort to canceling their
insurance policies, taking them out of
compliance with mortgage requirements
and potentially affecting their ability to
receive federal assistance in the case of
a disaster. In many instances,
companies simply are not renewing
VerDate Sep<11>2014
23:58 Dec 27, 2024
Jkt 265001
existing insurance policies, leaving
consumers searching for new, and often
more expensive, policies that often
provide less coverage. Additionally, the
lack of affordable and available
insurance coverage can also make it
more challenging for individuals to sell
their home. For potential borrowers,
increasing insurance costs may limit
affordable housing options or
participation in the market altogether.
These challenges are occurring at the
same time the nation faces a housing
supply shortage, and they could further
decrease housing affordability and
availability across the nation.
Improving resilience measures for
properties can reduce their damage from
natural disasters and extreme weather,
and, therefore, reduce costs to insurers.
HUD’s insurance summit highlighted
examples of state programs such as
those in Alabama and Louisiana
connecting resilience standards to
reduced insurance costs. Following the
summit, HUD is releasing this RFI to
better understand the challenges facing
property owners and determine what
more HUD can be doing to promote and
encourage resilience investments in
communities and reduced insurance
costs for property owners.
II. Purpose of This Request for
Information
The purpose of this RFI is to solicit
information regarding resilience
measures to mitigate damage from
natural hazards, including extreme
weather, to allow HUD to develop
policies that better support HUD’s
program participants in increasing
resilience and their ability to access
affordable insurance coverage for their
properties.
III. Specific Information Requested
While HUD welcomes all comments
relevant to increasing resilience of HUDsupported housing and reducing
insurance costs, HUD is particularly
interested in receiving input from
interested parties on the questions
outlined below.
Single Family and Multifamily Housing,
Public Housing and Insurance Risk
Pools
Question for comment #1: What are
the financial savings (e.g., insurance
premiums or avoided casualty loss) and
other benefits associated with
modifications to existing single family
or multifamily properties, including
public housing, to mitigate damage from
natural hazards or increase resilience in
the event of a natural hazard? How do
these savings compare to the costs
associated with those modifications?
PO 00000
Frm 00147
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Please list modifications and each of
their damage mitigation benefits as well
as financial and time costs. Distinguish
by peril type (earthquake, hurricane,
floods, hail, drought, wildfire, extreme
heat, landslide, etc.) or geography as
appropriate, as well as by building and
construction type.
Question for comment #2: What are
the financial savings (e.g., insurance
premiums or avoided casualty loss) and
other benefits associated with building
new construction properties with
building and design features that
mitigate damage from natural hazards or
increase resilience in the event of a
natural hazard? How do these savings
compare to the costs associated with
those features? Please list building and
design features and each of their damage
mitigation benefits as well as financial
and time costs. Distinguish by peril type
(earthquake, hurricane, floods, hail,
drought, wildfire, extreme heat,
landslide, etc.) or geography as
appropriate, as well as by building and
construction type.
Question for comment #3: What data
exist around the additional time or
financial costs, if any, of rebuilding to
or above code post-disaster instead of
waiving requirements? Is there
information on the longer-term costs
(e.g., financial or damage-related)
related to waiving building
requirements when rebuilding postdisaster?
Question for comment #4: Are there
local or state statutes, regulations, or
incentives that help property owners
reduce costs or save on expenses,
including insurance costs, when they
invest in resilience (e.g., reduced
insurance premiums, tax abatements,
subsidies/discounts)? If possible, please
provide data on how successful these
measures have been in saving on
expenses.
Question for comment #5: Please
identify any industry standards related
to resilience that you have used or
referenced in your work. If possible,
please document where the standard
has been applied, at what scale, and to
what effect.
Question for comment #6: Are there
local, state, or regional outreach or
education efforts that have been
successful in helping homeowners and
housing providers understand the direct
and indirect benefits of investing in
resilience measures?
Question for comment #7: What data
would be useful for insurers (including
risk pools) and reinsurers on efforts to
mitigate damage from natural hazards or
increase resilience to natural hazards,
such as housing elevations, home
E:\FR\FM\30DEN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 249 / Monday, December 30, 2024 / Notices
resilience upgrades, and infrastructure
improvements?
Tribal Communities
Question for comment #8: What
unique challenges do Tribal
communities face when implementing
housing resilience measures? How can
HUD support Tribal communities in
addressing these challenges?
Question for comment #9: What
partnerships between Tribal
governments, local authorities, and
other organizations exist to enhance
housing resilience on Tribal lands? Are
there ways in which these partnerships
can be expanded or improved? Please
explain and provide specific
recommendations, successes, and
challenges as well as any supporting
data as applicable.
Question for comment #10: How can
Tribes or organizations in remote
locations with limited options for
resilience investments better access or
incorporate resilience strategies,
resources, or methods? What resources
can HUD provide in partnership with
groups in these areas?
Question for comment #11: What
Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous
Knowledge about building practices can
be integrated with modern resilience
measures in tribal communities? Please
explain and provide specific
recommendations, as well as any
supporting data.
Manufactured Housing
Question for comment #12: In
addition to addressing manufactured
housing in the above questions where
relevant, how else can manufactured
home resilience be enhanced during all
types of natural disasters (e.g.,
hurricanes, floods, earthquakes,
wildfires, or tornadoes)? Please provide
relevant research as well as any
supporting data as applicable.
Solomon Greene,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024–30936 Filed 12–27–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey
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[GX25GK009970000]
Public Meetings of the Advisory
Committee on Landslides
Geological Survey, Department
of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of public meetings.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Federal Advisory Committee Act
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
23:58 Dec 27, 2024
Jkt 265001
(FACA) of 1972, the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) is publishing this notice
to announce that Federal Advisory
Committee meetings of the Advisory
Committee on Landslides (ACL) will
take place and are open to members of
the public.
DATES:
Meeting: The ACL will meet via web
conference on Thursday, January 16,
2025, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time.; and in-person
on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, from 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Wednesday, April
2, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time.
Registration: Registration to attend or
participate in the meetings is required.
To register, please contact the
Designated Federal Officer (DFO) (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
ADDRESSES: The meeting on January 16,
2025, will be held via web conference.
Meetings on April 1, 2025, and April 2,
2025, will be held in the Stewart Lee
Udall Department of the Interior
Building, 1849 C Street NW,
Washington, District of Columbia,
20240. Members of the public may
attend the meeting in-person or can
attend via web conference. Please note
admittance instructions under the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this notice. Comments can be sent to the
DFO (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Jonathan Godt, Landslide Hazards
Program Coordinator, Geological
Hazards Science Center, USGS, by email
at jgodt@usgs.gov; or by telephone at
(303) 905–9468.
Individuals in the United States who
are deaf, blind, hard of hearing, or have
a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside of the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
meeting is being held under the
provisions of the FACA of 1972 (5
U.S.C. ch. 10), the Government in the
Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as
amended), and 41 CFR part 102–3.
The ACL is composed of no fewer
than 11 members, appointed by the
Secretary of the Interior, who are
selected for their established
qualifications in landslide hazard and
risk or related fields, records of
distinguished service in their
professional community, knowledge of
issues affecting the National Landslide
Hazards Reduction Program (NLHRP),
PO 00000
Frm 00148
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
106553
and to represent a cross-section of views
and expertise, including a range of
geographies and communities impacted
by landslide hazards in the United
States.
Purpose of the Meeting: The ACL
provides advice and recommendations
to the Secretary of the Interior through
the Interagency Coordinating Committee
on Landslide Hazards on
implementation of NLHRP. Additional
information about the ACL is available
at Advisory Committee on Landslides
(ACL) | U.S. Geological Survey.
The purpose of the meetings is for the
ACL to establish its business; complete
required ethics and FACA briefings;
receive an overview of the USGS, the
USGS Landslide Hazards Program, and
the National Landslide Preparedness
Act (Pub. L. 116–323); consider
appointments of a Chair and Vice-Chair;
and discuss agency activities under the
NLHRP. Agendas may change to
accommodate ACL business. Final
agendas will be posted on the ACL
website at Advisory Committee on
Landslides (ACL) | U.S. Geological
Survey.
Members of the public wishing to
participate in the web conference
meeting should contact the DFO (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONACT) at
least three (3) business days prior to the
meeting. After pre-registering,
participants will be provided with
instructions on how to join via web
conference. Any member of the public
wishing to attend the in-person meeting
in person must pre-register to be
admitted into the building. Please
contact the DFO (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT) at least five (5)
business days prior to the meeting. NonU.S. citizens may need to submit
additional information. Seating for inperson attendees may be limited due to
room capacity. Please note that federal
agencies, including DOI, can only
accept a state-issued driver’s license or
identification card for access to federal
facilities if such license or identification
card is issued by a state that is
compliant with the REAL ID Act of 2005
(Pub. L. 109–13), or by a state that has
an extension for REAL ID compliance.
DOI currently accepts other forms of
federal-issued identification in lieu of a
state-issued driver’s license. For
detailed information please email
Jonathan Godt (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
Meeting Accessibility/Special
Accommodations: Please make requests
in advance for sign language interpreter
services, assistive listening devices,
language translation services, or other
reasonable accommodations. We ask
that you contact the DFO (see FOR
E:\FR\FM\30DEN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 106551-106553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30936]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-6505-N-01]
Request for Information Regarding Resilience Measures and
Insurance Coverage
AGENCY: Office of Policy Development and Research, Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
ACTION: Request for information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Homeowners and housing providers have experienced significant
increases in property insurance premiums and deductibles in the past
several years, along with reductions in insurance coverage, added
requirements, and withdrawals of insurance companies from certain
markets. In July 2024, HUD convened an insurance summit to address
challenges in the property insurance market. The insurance summit
highlighted the need to increase property resilience to natural hazards
and to clarify the relationship between resilience measures and costs
to property owners, including the cost of insurance. Through this
Request for Information (RFI), HUD seeks public input regarding how
best to assess measures to increase the resilience of residential
properties to natural hazards and extreme weather. This information
will allow HUD to develop policies that better support HUD's program
participants in increasing resilience to natural hazards, including
extreme weather, and accessing affordable insurance for their
properties.
DATES: Comment Due Date: February 28, 2025. Late-filed comments will be
considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments responsive
to this RFI. All submissions must refer to the docket number and title
of the RFI. Commenters are encouraged to identify the number of the
specific question or questions to which they are responding. Responses
should include the name(s) of the person(s) or organization(s) filing
the comment; however, because any responses received by HUD will be
publicly available, responses should not include any personally
identifiable information or confidential commercial information.
There are two methods for submitting public comments.
1. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit
comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
https://www.regulations.gov.
2. Submission of Comments by Mail. Comments may be submitted by
mail to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department
of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 10276,
Washington, DC 20410-0500. HUD strongly encourages commenters to submit
their feedback and recommendations electronically. Electronic
submission of comments allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and
submit a response, ensures timely receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to
make comments immediately available to the public. Comments submitted
electronically through the https://www.regulations.gov website can be
viewed by other commenters and interested members of the public.
Commenters should follow the instructions provided on that site to
submit comments electronically.
Note: To receive consideration as public comments, comments must
be submitted through one of the two methods specified above. Again,
all submissions must refer to the docket number and title of the
notice.
No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable.
Public Inspection of Public Comments. All comments and
communications properly submitted to HUD will be available for public
inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above
address. Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters building, an
advance appointment to review the public comments must be scheduled by
calling the Regulations Division at (202) 708-3055 (this is not a toll-
free number). HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from
individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as from
individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn more
about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Richardson, General Deputy
Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy Development and Research,
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room
8100, Washington, DC 20410-0500; telephone number 202-402-5706 (this is
not a toll-free number). HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls
from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as
individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn more
about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 106552]]
I. Background
Homeowners and housing providers have experienced significant
increases in property insurance premiums and deductibles in the past
several years, along with reductions in insurance coverage, added
requirements, and withdrawals of insurance companies from certain
markets. Increased insurance costs and the unavailability of coverage
are negatively impacting HUD's program participants, including public
housing authorities (PHAs), multifamily property owners, and Tribal
communities, as well as borrowers of FHA insured mortgages. In July
2024, HUD convened an insurance summit to address challenges in the
property insurance market. The insurance summit highlighted the need to
increase property resilience to natural hazards, including extreme
weather, and to clarify the relationship between resilience measures
and costs to property owners, including the cost of insurance.
Increasing insurance costs and lack of insurance availability pose
unique challenges to HUD's program participants. Unlike owners who
provide market-rate housing, affordable housing providers generally
cannot pass their insurance cost increases on to tenants through
increased rents. Currently, some affordable housing properties faced
with suddenly higher insurance costs report that they are coping in
short-term ways, including reducing insurance coverage or cutting back
on providing services or amenities to cut costs. Owners and PHAs have
also reported that they may have to resort to delaying capital repairs
or consider the sale of properties and further consolidation of their
portfolios. Additionally, financing deals for the development of new
properties are becoming more difficult to pencil out or close.
Difficulty obtaining sufficient insurance coverage at a reasonable
price also affects both new and existing FHA borrowers in all property
types, including site-built single family, manufactured housing, and
multifamily housing. For existing FHA borrowers, rising insurance costs
increase monthly housing expenses, causing financial stress on the
borrower and affecting their ability to maintain monthly mortgage
payments. Some cash-strapped borrowers resort to canceling their
insurance policies, taking them out of compliance with mortgage
requirements and potentially affecting their ability to receive federal
assistance in the case of a disaster. In many instances, companies
simply are not renewing existing insurance policies, leaving consumers
searching for new, and often more expensive, policies that often
provide less coverage. Additionally, the lack of affordable and
available insurance coverage can also make it more challenging for
individuals to sell their home. For potential borrowers, increasing
insurance costs may limit affordable housing options or participation
in the market altogether.
These challenges are occurring at the same time the nation faces a
housing supply shortage, and they could further decrease housing
affordability and availability across the nation.
Improving resilience measures for properties can reduce their
damage from natural disasters and extreme weather, and, therefore,
reduce costs to insurers. HUD's insurance summit highlighted examples
of state programs such as those in Alabama and Louisiana connecting
resilience standards to reduced insurance costs. Following the summit,
HUD is releasing this RFI to better understand the challenges facing
property owners and determine what more HUD can be doing to promote and
encourage resilience investments in communities and reduced insurance
costs for property owners.
II. Purpose of This Request for Information
The purpose of this RFI is to solicit information regarding
resilience measures to mitigate damage from natural hazards, including
extreme weather, to allow HUD to develop policies that better support
HUD's program participants in increasing resilience and their ability
to access affordable insurance coverage for their properties.
III. Specific Information Requested
While HUD welcomes all comments relevant to increasing resilience
of HUD-supported housing and reducing insurance costs, HUD is
particularly interested in receiving input from interested parties on
the questions outlined below.
Single Family and Multifamily Housing, Public Housing and Insurance
Risk Pools
Question for comment #1: What are the financial savings (e.g.,
insurance premiums or avoided casualty loss) and other benefits
associated with modifications to existing single family or multifamily
properties, including public housing, to mitigate damage from natural
hazards or increase resilience in the event of a natural hazard? How do
these savings compare to the costs associated with those modifications?
Please list modifications and each of their damage mitigation benefits
as well as financial and time costs. Distinguish by peril type
(earthquake, hurricane, floods, hail, drought, wildfire, extreme heat,
landslide, etc.) or geography as appropriate, as well as by building
and construction type.
Question for comment #2: What are the financial savings (e.g.,
insurance premiums or avoided casualty loss) and other benefits
associated with building new construction properties with building and
design features that mitigate damage from natural hazards or increase
resilience in the event of a natural hazard? How do these savings
compare to the costs associated with those features? Please list
building and design features and each of their damage mitigation
benefits as well as financial and time costs. Distinguish by peril type
(earthquake, hurricane, floods, hail, drought, wildfire, extreme heat,
landslide, etc.) or geography as appropriate, as well as by building
and construction type.
Question for comment #3: What data exist around the additional time
or financial costs, if any, of rebuilding to or above code post-
disaster instead of waiving requirements? Is there information on the
longer-term costs (e.g., financial or damage-related) related to
waiving building requirements when rebuilding post-disaster?
Question for comment #4: Are there local or state statutes,
regulations, or incentives that help property owners reduce costs or
save on expenses, including insurance costs, when they invest in
resilience (e.g., reduced insurance premiums, tax abatements,
subsidies/discounts)? If possible, please provide data on how
successful these measures have been in saving on expenses.
Question for comment #5: Please identify any industry standards
related to resilience that you have used or referenced in your work. If
possible, please document where the standard has been applied, at what
scale, and to what effect.
Question for comment #6: Are there local, state, or regional
outreach or education efforts that have been successful in helping
homeowners and housing providers understand the direct and indirect
benefits of investing in resilience measures?
Question for comment #7: What data would be useful for insurers
(including risk pools) and reinsurers on efforts to mitigate damage
from natural hazards or increase resilience to natural hazards, such as
housing elevations, home
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resilience upgrades, and infrastructure improvements?
Tribal Communities
Question for comment #8: What unique challenges do Tribal
communities face when implementing housing resilience measures? How can
HUD support Tribal communities in addressing these challenges?
Question for comment #9: What partnerships between Tribal
governments, local authorities, and other organizations exist to
enhance housing resilience on Tribal lands? Are there ways in which
these partnerships can be expanded or improved? Please explain and
provide specific recommendations, successes, and challenges as well as
any supporting data as applicable.
Question for comment #10: How can Tribes or organizations in remote
locations with limited options for resilience investments better access
or incorporate resilience strategies, resources, or methods? What
resources can HUD provide in partnership with groups in these areas?
Question for comment #11: What Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous
Knowledge about building practices can be integrated with modern
resilience measures in tribal communities? Please explain and provide
specific recommendations, as well as any supporting data.
Manufactured Housing
Question for comment #12: In addition to addressing manufactured
housing in the above questions where relevant, how else can
manufactured home resilience be enhanced during all types of natural
disasters (e.g., hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires, or
tornadoes)? Please provide relevant research as well as any supporting
data as applicable.
Solomon Greene,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-30936 Filed 12-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P